


The Present is All We Have

by laxit21



Series: Alias: Felicity Smoak [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: BAMF Felicity Smoak, Canon-Typical Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spies & Secret Agents, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2020-06-23 15:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 40,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19703920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21
Summary: Felicity took matters into her own hands and defeated the demons from her past. She took control of her future and managed to avoid becoming what she hated the most. She was finally free, yet no matter where she goes, she always winds up back in Starling.  She returns just in time for Team Arrow to face their biggest challenge yet.Sequel to 'The Future is Closer than You Think' and Part 3 of the Alias: Felicity Smoak series





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back? (Back again?)

Oliver was chasing a masked man through an abandoned warehouse. Roy and Digg had taken off, trying to catch his friends. He could hear Thea in his ear, instructing him on where to go. She wasn’t exactly Felicity, but she was doing a very good job of running the comms and had gotten a lot better at responding quickly in the last few months. As soon as he thought of Felicity, he shook his head, trying to banish the thought. He had a lot of feelings about her, a lot of regrets. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on all the mistakes he’d made when he learned the truth about Felicity’s past.

The man he was chasing seemed to be slowly down. He smirked. The masked man was the only solid lead to Prometheus that they’d found so far. A few weeks earlier, whispers started circulating of a man in Starling who was going by the name Prometheus. Shortly after Oliver heard those whispers, Roy encountered him on the way back to the foundry one night. Prometheus threw a knife at him and told him to warn the Arrow that he was coming for him.

A few days after that, a drug dealer Oliver had busted was killed with an arrow while being moved from the police station to a prison transport van. Clearly, whoever this Prometheus was, he wanted Oliver’s attention. Now, he had it.

Oliver himself had only encountered the masked killer once himself when he was searching for a suspected serial killer. He wasn’t able to capture the killer, but he did rescue the man’s next victim. The archer was leaving the scene when a shuriken went flying past his face. Oliver turned and saw Prometheus standing there, flanked by three men dressed in identical black clothes and masks. The man claimed that he was going to show Oliver ‘himself’ and that they were playing a game that Oliver ‘was already losing’. Before the archer could engage him in a fight, one of his companions dropped a smoke bomb and they disappeared.

Which was way Oliver was now chasing one of Prometheus’ minions through a warehouse. If he could catch the minion, he could question him. The questions could lead him to Prometheus, or at the very least, tell him what the man’s ultimate plan was. Oliver didn’t like not knowing things.

“Arsenal and Spartan lost their guy.” Thea reported. “Looks like you’re up.”

“Thanks, Speedy.”

“I hate that that’s my code name.” She remarked. “I don’t even know where this guy thinks he’s going. He’s not running towards any kind of exit.”

“Not every person we take down is a criminal mastermind.”

“Well, he’s about to hit a dead end.” She told her brother.

As she expected, the man Oliver was chasing turned a corner. The only thing in front of him was a brick wall. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with the Arrow. Oliver quickly pinned him against the wall.

“Who’s Prometheus? What is he planning?” He growled.

The masked man just laughed. “You think you’re so smart, yet you fall for every diversion put in front of you.”

“What?”

“Do you think you spotted me by chance?” He asked. “He’s so many steps ahead of you, and you don’t even realize what game you’re playing.”

“You’re going to tell me-.”

The man pulled out a knife he had hidden up his sleeve and slashed at Oliver, causing him to back up. “I don’t think I will.” He said before using the blade to slit his own throat. He cut so deep that he was dead before he hit the ground.

“Speedy, did you-?”

“I heard what he said. Just trying to work out what that means.”

“It means Prometheus had us distracted with his followers so he could do something.” he said.

“I know that, but nothings out of the ordinary. There’ve been a few fights, two robberies. An abandoned building’s on fire and- oh, I think I know what he was doing.” Thea said. “Someone broke into Iron Heights and killed Daniel Brickwell.”

Daniel Brickwell had been the leader of a street gang. Towards the end of the fiasco with Waller, ARGUS, the Russians and Felicity, he seemed to notice the Arrow was distracted. He used the distraction to try and take over the Glades, forcing the police to abandon it. Unfortunately for Brickwell, the Arrow wasn’t distracted for much longer and helped the SCPD reclaim the Glades. Brickwell was arrested and once in custody, the police found out he was behind several murders, including Rebecca Merlyn’s.

After this story got out, Brickwell became one of the more well-known enemies of the Arrow, after Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn. Given that the other two were dead, Brickwell was an admittedly obvious target for Prometheus, who seemed obsessed with the idea that only he could kill the Arrow.

“And you’re sure someone broke in? it wasn’t another prisoner?” Oliver asked Thea.

“I’ve only been in a prison once, to visit Mom, but I’m pretty sure they don’t let inmates have those throwing stars ninjas use.” She said.

Tobias Church sat back in his chair after he was finished outlining the situation to his men. “It’s simple. We need to kill him.”

“The Arrow?” One of his men asked. “We don’t even know who he is. How are we gonna kill him?”

“Not him, you idiot. Not yet at least. I wanna kill the mayor. Sends a message.” Church clarified. “Something tells me Oliver Queen isn’t very hard to kill, he just got lucky.”

Felicity stepped off the plane and took a deep breath. The air smelled like….well, it didn’t really smell like anything. On top of that, the city she’d landed in was very, very hot. She looked around, observing the hustle and bustle of the busy airport.

“So, this is where I fake grew up.” She said, looking out of the window at Las Vegas. “I was expecting more….well, more.”

“Can I help you, Miss?” An airport employee asked.

“Nope. Just talking to myself.” She said. It had been seven months since she killed Ra’s. Today was the first time she’d been on US soil since she left to kill him. She grabbed her bag and was about to leave the airport when a news report caught her eye. It said there had been an attack at Starling’s City Hall and that several people had been injured.

She walked over to the customer service desk. “When’s the next flight to Starling?” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity returns to Starling and finds things have changed quite a bit.

As Felicity’s flight to Starling reached cruising altitude, she began to wonder of she was moving in too fast. She’d stayed away for seven months. She heard from Thea and Roy occasionally and nothing indicated there was a problem. Maybe she’d jumped the gun when she heard about the attack at City Hall. The police could handle it, or the team. They didn’t really need her, did they?

The plane was already in the air, so it wasn’t like she could change her mind. Worse case scenario, she could land and catch a flight back to Las Vegas or anywhere else. The blonde was rather grateful that she’d left most of her weapons in Starling. it wouldn’t have been easy trying to get her sniper rifle through airport security and trying to check a case full of weapons didn’t seem like a good idea either.

Two hours after take-off, her plane began its descent into Starling International Airport. She stepped off the plane and found a television. A lot could change in a few hours. The attack was still being investigated. The SCPD was light on details during their press conference. Mayor Queen had been rushed to the hospital. Thea was too young to run for office which meant only one person could be ‘Mayor Queen’.

“They made him mayor?” She asked aloud.

“Not a fan of his I take it.” The man who happened to be standing next to Felicity asked. He had a blonde buzzcut and was maybe five years older than her. He was dressed in a suit, likely a banker or a lawyer. She studied him for a moment. He seemed to just be trying to make conversation. No underlying motive.

“No, its not that. I knew him a long time ago. He wasn’t exactly the mayoral type.” She said before walking off. Then, her phone rang. “Hello?”

“You land safe?” Sam asked.

“Yup.”

“Good. I hope you know that just because-.”

“Bye Sam.” She said before hanging up. She wasn’t in mood to talk at the moment.

Oliver was about to recap what happened, in detail, for the third time with Captain Lance and try not to roll his eyes. He knew they needed a complete picture of what happened, but his description of events was pretty concise and complete. He didn’t understand why they were asking him to walk them through what happened again, especially so soon after last being asked. Did they think he’d suddenly remember something vital in the last twenty minutes?

“Ok, let’s start at the beginning. Where were you when the gunmen appeared?”

“I was just walking into the building. I was at Starling Elementary early this morning for Career Day.” He said, “Ms. Adams was giving me my messages and Cassandra was about to tell me my schedule. There were some proposals I was supposed to look over waiting on my desk.”

“And then you noticed them? You didn’t see anything before that?”

“Yes, that was when I noticed the two shooters arrive. I didn’t see anything prior to that, but I felt uneasy and couldn’t quite explain why. They entered, and a guard stopped them at the door, asking who they were there to see. He was trying to direct them to the right place.”

“And they shot him?”

“Yes.” Oliver said solemnly. “The shot got everyone’s attention and they started to open fire. Ms. Adams was closer to one of the shooters, so I pushed her behind me.”

“And that’s how you were shot in the arm?” Lance asked.

“Yes. The bullet struck me while I was trying to pull her to safety.” Oliver was more concerned with how the poor receptionist was doing than with his arm. He was shot in his left arm, not his dominant one. Based on his past experiences with gunshot wounds, it wasn’t a very bad injury. He cared more about making sure the other employees were okay than being upset about getting hurt. “I know its an ongoing investigation and all, but can you tell me if anything else was injured?”

“The guard they shot is gonna pull through. Another was shot in the leg. Most of the people in the lobby had minor injuries and have been released. Only one of the shooters made it.”

“One of them was killed?”

“Yes. The first officer on the scene saw him advancing towards someone with the gun drawn. When he didn’t drop the weapon, Officer Banks was forced to fire.” Lance said. “Is there anything else you remember?”

“No. I’m sorry.” He admitted.

“This isn’t your fault, you know.” Lance said. Quentin had become a lot friendly to Oliver in the last year. Some of it was because of Sara, the rest was because Oliver had earned his respect as the mayor. “You can’t take the blame for every psycho out there.”

Thea had briefly visited in between conversations with the police. She told him the dead gunmen was a known associate of Tobias Church. The Arrow had recently become a thorn in Church’s side, so he was very aware of the man’s existence. He wasn’t sure why Church would target the mayor however.

After talking to Lance, Oliver was released from the hospital. John helped him make his way through the crowd of reporters to get into his car. They all wanted to know what had happened and what the shooters motives were. Who was hurt, and who wasn’t. They also asked if he somehow knew this was going to happen, which just sounded like a strange question to him. If he knew, why wouldn’t he have informed the SCPD?

John drove Oliver to the foundry, knowing that’s where he’d want to go. Roy and Thea were already in the lair waiting.

“You can take that sling off, you know. We both know you aren’t gonna use it.” His sister said.

“No, but I needed to keep up appearances.” He said. “I think its time we took care of Tobias Church for good. He ordered the attack. A bunch of people could’ve died.”

Felicity was sitting in her hotel room; she wasn’t ready to go back to her old house yet. She stared at her laptop where she was watching a live feed from the foundry. Oliver had just told the others they needed to handle Tobias Church. A quick search of his name told her everything she needed to know. The blonde began running an improved search program to find him when Thea spoke up saying someone named Prometheus was just spotted.

Felicity wasn’t sure they needed her help to stop Church, but Prometheus sounded reasonably ominous. She waited for Thea to give the others a location and left her hotel to meet them there. It was time for an unexpected reunion, it seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes to confront Prometheus, Felicity follows to see what makes him such a big deal, a reunion is inevitable.

Thea had started looking for a lead on Tobias Church before Oliver, John or Roy even arrived at the foundry. He’d planned an attack on City Hall and many people knew it, even if the SCPD hadn’t made a statement confirming it yet. There were only so many places he could hide and there were very few people willing to help him. The algorithm was starting to run when an SCPD officer radioed in to report a masked man matching Prometheus’s description had been spotted.

“What do we do here?” She asked.

“Church shot up a government building.” Roy pointed out.

“And Prometheus has been leaving a trail of bodies behind him for weeks.” John argued.

“There are only three of you, you can’t just split up.” Thea looked to Oliver. “Who do we pick?”

“Prometheus. He’s the bigger threat. Church is dangerous, but his plan failed. Right now, he’ll be trying to regroup.” Oliver explained. “Prometheus isn’t- whatever he’s up to, he’s doing it now. And he doesn’t need time to plan. Church’s tomorrow’s problem.”

Everyone suited up and headed out. Thea tried to find a camera near Prometheus’s location so that she could keep an eye on what was going on. The recent spotting of the killer had all of Thea’s attention, so she didn’t notice the notifications that had popped up in the corner of the screen. If they weren’t setting off any alarms or alerts, they probably weren’t super important.

Even though he’d been spotted, Prometheus didn’t seem to be doing anything when the team arrived. He hadn’t killed anyone. He wasn’t leading an attack. He wasn’t trying to break in somewhere and steal something. He, and his followers, were just lurking in a bad part of town.

As soon as Thea told the team that, the hair on the back of Oliver and John’s necks started to stand up. Prometheus had been incredibly active recently. Yet now, he was just standing around, doing nothing. That didn’t bode well for them.

“I don’t like this.” John said as they reached their destination.

“I don’t like it either.” Oliver said. “Stay alert and both of you keep your heads on a swivel. This is probably a trap, or in the very least, a distraction.”

Felicity, who was tuned into the same frequency as the team, was thinking the same thing. if she had to guess, she’d say it was a trap. Then again, she hadn’t heard of Prometheus before now, so she couldn’t make an informed guess. Since her hotel was farther from Prometheus than Verdant was, she was trailing behind the team. She just hoped she wouldn’t be too late in case something happened.

Roy and John entered the building from one side. Oliver took the other entrance. Thea had a visual of Prometheus, multiples actually, so they knew he was still at the location where he’d been spotted. The building, like many others in Starling, was abandoned and the vigilantes had to spend a few minutes clearing the entrances and searching the building for Prometheus.

Felicity arrived shortly after they did. She found Prometheus, or at least someone she guessed was Prometheus, shortly before Oliver, Digg and Roy did. She snuck to higher ground to observe, and was happy she decided to bring one of her sniper rifles with her.

They found him in a large open area in the middle of the room. He had three others with him. “Finally. I was beginning to think I needed to do something drastic to get your attention.” By ‘do something drastic’, he meant ‘go on a killing spree’ which Oliver knew and he knew Oliver knew what it meant.

“You have my attention.”

“I’m not sure that I do. How can I when other, lesser threats, seem to keep catching your attention?” He said.

“What do you want?”

Prometheus tilted his head to the side. “After all the planning and work I’ve put in, this story is far from over. Why would I already tell you how it ends?”

“Let me guess. This story ends with you killing him.” Roy said dismissively.

“Spoken like a man with no sense of planning, no attention to detail, no commitment.” Prometheus responded. “Killing him now would be…anticlimactic. You, however, are another matter entirely.”

He gestured and his followers attacked. They fought Oliver, but were mostly trying to take down Digg and Roy. Prometheus stood there and watched it happen. In order to defeat the Arrow, he reasoned, he needed to first isolate him. Killing his team was the easiest way to do that. Even if he only lost one person, he’d lash out and make bad decisions.

The fight came to an abrupt end when three shots rang out in succession. Prometheus’s three followers fell to the ground. Felicity moved down from her perch. Three attackers were down, but one man was still standing. She landed on the ground and drew a handgun.

Prometheus spotted her, as she expected he would, and moved forward. It looked like he was reaching for something, so she shot him in the hand. He dropped whatever it was and, with his other hand, released a smoke bomb, allowing him to escape.

When the smoke cleared, Oliver, Digg, Roy and Felicity were the only ones standing there. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she wasn’t wearing her glasses and she had a black scarf covering her mouth. They didn’t recognize her and each raised their weapons, expecting another fight.

She pulled the scarf down as she spoke. “I thought we talked about you not pointing weapons at me.”

“Felicity?” They all said at once.

“Hi guys. It’s nice to see you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity explains a little bit about where she's been and tries to avoid certain topics.

When the smoke cleared, Oliver, Digg, Roy and Felicity were the only ones standing there. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she wasn’t wearing her glasses and she had a black scarf covering her mouth. They didn’t recognize her and each raised their weapons, expecting another fight.

She pulled the scarf down as she spoke. “I thought we talked about you not pointing weapons at me.”

“Felicity?” They all said at once.

“Hi guys. It’s nice to see you.” She said with a smile. “How’s your arm?”

“What?” Oliver asked.

“I saw on the news that you were shot at City Hall. How is your arm?” Felicity repeated.

“I’m fine. it was just a flesh wound.”

“Uh, guys. I love a surprised reunion as much as anyone else, but maybe we should take this conversation somewhere else.” Roy said.

“He’s right. Let’s go.” She said, heading towards the door.

They got back to the foundry and Thea rushed towards Felicity, practically tackling her. “I take it you missed me.”

“Duh.” The brunette said, rolling her eyes. “How are you? How’s Sam? And Sara?”

“I’m kinda surprised you’re here.” Oliver added. “Not that I don’t want you here, it’s just- I thought, with you now controlling the League of Assassins-.”

“I’m not.” Felicity said. “Leading the League that is.”

“But I thought Ra’s-.”

“Oh, he wanted me to be his successor. He was rather adamant, but that’s not what I wanted. So, I killed him and abdicated my role to Nyssa.” She said simply. “I never wanted to be an assassin. I hated it. Both my parents died, horrifically, trying to save me from being one. Ignoring all of that and everything I did to get away from the Russians and Waller, just because Ra’s said I fulfilled some prophecy would’ve made their sacrifice pointless. It would’ve cheapened all the work I put in and all the challenges I faced to live a normal life.” She cleared her throat. “And Sara is doing well, I assume. I haven’t seen her in a few months.”

“If you killed Ra’s when you went back to Nanda Parbat, why didn’t you come back sooner?” Roy asked.

“I…needed some time. I spent 17 years in Russia, then I spent nine years on the run and then I was forced to join the League of Assassins. I’ve never gotten a chance to figure out who I am. Or travel somewhere without killing someone. I’ve been doing that for the past few months.”

“And did you figure it out?” Oliver asked. “Who you are, I mean?”

“I don’t think anyone ever actually figures it out completely, but I’ve got a pretty good idea.” She said with a shrug. “Just out of curiosity, who was that guy I shot?”

“He goes by Prometheus. He’s a little obsessed with Ollie, and that’s all we really know.” Thea answered.

“Prometheus? Really?” The blonde said with an eye roll. “And everyone used to call me a drama queen. What does he want with you?”

“No clue. The only time I’ve seen him before this, he made some vague comment about showing me ‘who I really am’.” Oliver answered.

“Well, he won’t be doing that for at least a week.” She remarked.

“Why’s that?”

“Let’s just say his hand’s gonna need a while to recover.” Felicity had fired an armor-piercing round into his hand when she shot him. Not only that, but the bullet itself was a higher caliber than that found in most handguns. Even if the bullet didn’t do any real damage, he wouldn’t be able to use that hand for a few days because of the swelling and bruising. “Well, now that the excitement’s over, I should probably get back to my hotel.”

“Why are you in a hotel when you own a house in town?” Digg wondered.

“I’m not ready to go back there to be honest. Not yet at least.” Felicity didn’t really have a plan when she caught the flight to Starling. She’d just seen that Oliver had been shot and felt the need to see him. She didn’t know how long she’d be staying for, or if she’d leave at all.

“That’s fair, but you can’t stay in a hotel.” Thea insisted. “I won’t let you.”

“Where else can I go?”

“You can stay with me and Ollie.” She said. “We’ve got an extra room.” Thea and Oliver had been sharing a loft since Felicity left to join the League. Oliver had been living in the foundry, which she wasn’t happy about, and Thea wasn’t quite ready to be living alone. The siblings sharing an apartment made sense, even if some raised their eyebrows about the mayor not having a place of his own.

“Speedy-.” Oliver began to say. Felicity also looked ready to refuse.

“Please. You helped me when I was hiding from Malcolm and I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Let me return the favor.” She insisted.

“Fine. But only for a few days.” Felicity caved. Her feelings towards Oliver and John might be conflicted because of how they treated her after learning about her past, but she wasn’t angry at Thea or Roy. She wasn’t going to turn Thea’s offer down because she was still a little angry with Oliver.

A little over an hour later, Felicity was knocking on the door of the loft. The Queens must’ve been waiting for her arrival, because the door opened mere milliseconds later. Thea showed her to her room and then they gathered in the living room to talk. Neither sibling quite knew what to say, so the conversation died pretty quickly.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sleepy.” Felicity announced. “Probably the jet lag. I’m gonna head to bed. See you…. around I guess.”

She went to her room to sleep. A little while later, Thea said she was tired and headed to bed as well. Oliver went to his room and tried to sleep, but was unsuccessful. He was still wired from the confrontation with Prometheus. He was wracked with guilt about the shooting at City Hall. On top of that, he was restless because of Felicity’s arrival. What did it mean? Was she just visiting or would she stay? Would he get the chance to make things right with her? The last year made him take a long, hard look at how he’d treated her and he didn’t like what he’d done.

Unable to sleep, Oliver wandered downstairs and picked up a book that was sitting on the coffee table. He hoped reading for a little bit might put his mind at ease. He was about two chapters into the book when he heard noises coming from Felicity’s room. Walking towards the door, he heard whimpering and something moving around. He opened the door to see her thrashing back and forth in the bed. She was also muttering in Russian, but he could only make out one word, “Mama”. Felicity was clearly having a nightmare and needed to be woken up. He tried calling her name softly, but it didn’t work. Then, he reached a hand out to nudge her shoulder. She grabbed it and flipped him onto the floor with his arm twisted behind him.

“Felicity? It’s me, it’s Oliver.” He said. “You were having a nightmare.”

“What did you hear?” She asked.

“Nothing.” He lied. He knew her mother was a sensitive subject and he realized she didn’t like being seen as weak. Telling her she’d been whimpering about her mother would only make her angrier. “Can I have my arm back now?” She was still holding it behind his back.

“What-? Yeah.” She said. “Did I-? I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?”

“Nope.” He said, rotating his shoulder a few times. “I might be a little stiff later. If you need to, you know, talk-.”

“Thanks, but I’m good for now.” She said. “I’m gonna try to get some more sleep.” Taking the hint, he left the room.

Despite her claims of being tired, Felicity was the first person up the next day. Thea was still asleep when Oliver came downstairs to eat breakfast. He was dressed for work, but looked like he was heading to his execution.

“What’s with that face?” She asked him.

“I’ve got a meeting today that I don’t wanna go to. I’d rather do literally anything else, including go back to Lian Yu, than go to this meeting.”

“You have a meeting with the DA’s office today, don’t you?” Thea asked as she came downstairs. She’d heard the end of what Oliver had said.

“You dislike the DA’s office that much?” Felicity asked. “Unless- oh, its not the DA’s office you want to avoid, it’s Laurel.”

“She’s been…. different since she left the hospital.” Oliver said quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> What do you think is going on with Laurel?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Thea catch up, and Felicity reunites with someone.

“You dislike the DA’s office that much?” Felicity asked. “Unless- oh, its not the DA’s office you want to avoid, it’s Laurel.” She was kinda surprised Laurel managed to get her job in the DA’s office back after what happened.

“She’s been….different since she left the hospital.” Oliver said quietly.

“You two aren’t back together, are you? Because you’re an adult and can make your own choices, but that would be a bad choice. I will actually vomit if you say you’re dating her again.”

“I’m not.” He said.

“He’s not!” Thea shouted. “Because he knows I’ll lose my shit if he did.”

Oliver sighed. “I have to go. Really don’t want to go to this meeting.”

He left the loft and Thea turned to Felicity. “So, how have you been? How’s Sam?”

“I don’t….exactly know.” She said. “I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

“You haven’t seen your boyfriend in weeks?”

“We aren’t together at the moment.” She said. “I need to figure things out, like I said. So does he. And there’s this added aspect of our history.”

“Ok, I know you like being mysterious, but I don’t know what that means.”

“I never dated anyone when I was growing up, it wasn’t allowed. Relationships mean feelings and feelings weren’t exactly encouraged. I had a crush on Sam, and he had one on me, but we couldn’t- anyway, then I was on the run. Next I helped him fake his death. And finally we get reunited in Star City. We both thought that was a sign. We were meant to be together. Now, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sam’s the only person that knows what I’ve been through. He’s the only person that I’ve never had to lie to. He’s seen me kill a room full of people and not looked at me any differently afterwards.” She said. “I know it sounds dramatic, but he’s kinda the only person who understands me. And I thought that, after everything, we were meant to be together. But it doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like every movie and book and TV show says love’s supposed to feel like. It feels like I’m trying to fix a square peg into a round hole.”

“Love isn’t like the movies, Felicity. it’s rough sometimes.” Thea said.

“I know, but- at what point does it being hard mean its no longer worth it? I’m not saying I don’t love him or that I don’t think he’s worth it but- Sam and I’s relationship was easier when we were both running for our lives. What does that say about us?”

“I don’t know.”

The two women fell into silence. After a few minutes, Felicity spoke again. “Oliver said Laurel’s been different since she left the hospital. What does that mean? And how did she get her job back anyway?”

“I don’t know what he meant. We’ve all been avoiding her, but he can’t because he’s the mayor and she works for the District Attorney.” Thea said. “He did tell me how she got her job back. She threatened to sue them for discrimination. She claimed that her behavior, mostly blackmailing the DA’s office, was due to her undiagnosed mental illness. Since she was mentally ill before they fired her and she was fired because of her blackmail, which was because of her illness, it meant she was fired because of a pre-existing condition. She claimed violated a bunch of laws protecting people with disabilities, so they caved and rehired her.”

Felicity wanted to vomit. Laurel was using laws to protect people that were actually disabled and actually mentally ill as a smoke-screen to get her job back. The blonde had done plenty of bad things, she’d killed people, but she’d never stooped that low. A very naïve part of Felicity hoped that when Laurel left the hospital, she’d go on to work somewhere like CNRI. She liked CNRI Laurel more than she did ADA Laurel.

Oliver walked into City Hall with a frown on his face. The SCPD were still cleaning up from the shooting the day earlier. There was still crime scene tape across the front doors and pieces of broken glass littered the floor. The mayor’s office had given everyone the choice of taking today off because of what happened, so only about a third of the normal staff were there. Still, Oliver went to his office, hoping to get some work done before his meeting started. He was also really annoyed that the DA’s office refused to reschedule this meeting, despite what happened yesterday.

Way sooner than he wanted, there was a knock at the door and a security guard let in a group of three people. Laurel, an assistant district attorney named Susana Anderson and another named Jason Clark. Oliver stood and greeted them before asking something.

“Where is Adrian?” Adrian Chase, the city’s new DA, made it a point never to miss these meetings. He said that the mayor’s office and the DA’s needed to work closely and claimed missing a meeting would imply he wasn’t interested in improving the city.

“He’s sick today. Sounded awful on the phone.” Susana answered. “He asked me to pass along his apologies. He also wanted me to inform you that he’s glad no one was seriously injured yesterday.”

Oliver found it odd that Chase was absent because he was sick. He’d attended meeting when he was unwell before. Laurel, meanwhile, was glaring at Susana. She hadn’t been disbarred, she had her job back, but she was pissed that she wasn’t Chase’s right-hand woman. Laurel had been practicing in Starling years before Susana, so why wasn’t she Chase’s confidant?

“Well, I trust you’ll bring him up to speed on what we discuss when he feels better.” Oliver said. He asked them where they stood on the most pressing cases and when they were scheduled to go to trial. Laurel kept trying to get Oliver’s attention during the meeting, but he ignored her. Finally, the meeting ended. The others left, while Laurel walked over to Oliver.

“Hi Ollie.”

“Do you need something Laurel?”

“Do I need a reason to talk to my oldest friend?” She asked. She stared at him with wide eyes for a few moments, while playing with her fingers. “I was wondering if you were busy-.”

“Laurel, there was a shooting here yesterday. My staff are all really shaken, I’m trying to assist the SCPD with their investigation as much as I can, and I still need to fulfill my mayoral duties. If you have something to say or ask, please just say it.”

Since getting treatment, Laurel seemed to have forgotten a few things. She didn’t seem to remember that they were broken up. She kept dropping hints about how she was free for dinner, or that she wanted to spend time with him. She also continued to call him Ollie, even after he asked her explicitly not to. She would look at him, with wide eyes to seem more vulnerable, like he was somehow able to solve all of her problems, which he found unnerving.

“I’m free tonight, we should have dinner.”

“I’m busy.” He told her. He didn’t know, and didn’t understand, what was going on with Laurel, but one thing was clear: he should probably stay away from her for now.

Suddenly, the door to his office opened and someone came in. “Hey, Oliver, Thea asked me to drop this off and-.” Felicity stopped in her tracks. She was holding a file folder in her hand. “This is awkward.”

Laurel saw her and started shaking. Then, she started running her fingers through her hair frantically. Oliver looked at her, concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity sees Laurel for the first time and later, she's reminded of something.

“I’m free tonight, we should have dinner.” Laurel told Oliver.

“I’m busy.” He told her. He didn’t know, and didn’t understand, what was going on with Laurel, but one thing was clear: he should probably stay away from her for now.

Suddenly, the door to his office opened and someone came in. “Hey, Oliver, Thea asked me to drop this off and-.” Felicity stopped in her tracks. She was holding a file folder in her hand. “This is awkward.”

Laurel saw her and started shaking. Then, she started running her fingers through her hair frantically. Oliver looked at her, concerned. “Laurel?”

“You- I- I thought you were gone, that you left.” Laurel yelled at Felicity. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“I’m not sure what you mean. I haven’t seen you in over a year.” Felicity said calmly.

“That’s not true. You-.”

“Felicity, maybe we should talk later.” Oliver suggested. it wasn’t that he wanted to defend Laurel, but seeing Felicity clearly distressed her. The last thing anyone needed was for her to have a relapse or be hospitalized again.

“You can-? She’s-? You- I need to get out of here.” Laurel pushed past Felicity and practically sprinted out of the building.

“What was that about?” Oliver asked, watching her leave.

“I don’t know. I guess some of her feelings, anger, fear, whatever they are, never went away and seeing me again brought all of that up.” She said with a shrug. Felicity knew she’d probably run into Laurel eventually. She didn’t expect for it to happen so soon or for the attorney to have a reaction like that. “Or it might have something else.” She handed Oliver the file folder she was holding. “Thea asked me to bring you this.”

“Why didn’t she come herself?” He wondered.

“I volunteered. She needed to meet a vendor at Verdant, I wanted to explore the city in broad daylight. When she realized you left that file in the loft, I offered to bring it here so she wouldn’t have to go out of her way.”

“That’s awfully nice of you.”

“I am nice.” She insisted. “When I want to be anyway.”

Adrian Chase growled in frustration and shoved several of his books off of the shelf. He had had the Arrow right where he wanted him. He was surrounded, his team wasn’t able to hold off Chase’s. Right on schedule, right when he had the chance to kill the kid in the red hood, his men got shot by an unknown sniper. The same person who gave him the hand injury he was currently sporting. Who was the masked shooter and what were they doing in that building to begin with?

Chase knew he needed to reevaluate things. The mysterious gunman meant there was an unknown variable at play. Whose side were they on? What was their interest in the Arrow? What had he missed?

He sat in his apartment stewing. He couldn’t work for at least a few more days. The bandages on his hand would raise too many eyebrows. His coworkers would have questions. Prometheus wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold his swords the same way again. A bullet had gone straight through his hand, and since he couldn’t go to the hospital, he needed to just wait and see how the wound affect his muscles and nerves. He decided to give his mentor a call. Maybe she could tell him something about the mysterious shooter.

Laurel was sitting in her office, trying to calm herself down when there was a knock on her door. She looked up at saw her father. “You okay? What’s wrong?”

She’d called him after she made it back to her office. He was the only person she could think of reaching out to about this. “I- I saw something- someone- today that I didn’t expect to.” She answered.

“Who?”

“Felicity Smoak.”

“Ok, and did something happen?” Lance asked. He knew Laurel didn’t react well to hearing that name.

“Nothing. She just stood there, all smug. Acting like she hadn’t done anything wrong. Like she didn’t ruin my life.”

“She didn’t.” Her father told her. “You should give Dr. Martin a call.” Lance knew plenty of things, but he wasn’t equipped to help Laurel in the same way her therapist was.

“I’m not crazy.” She said firmly.

“I didn’t say you were. I’m just suggesting that you talk to her. You’ve been doing very well. I don’t want you to regress because Felicity came back.” He said calmly.

Dr. Martin and Lance both believed Laurel was using Felicity Smoak as the boogeyman so to speak. When bad things happened to Laurel, she blamed Felicity for them. Laurel lost her job, and it was Felicity’s fault. Laurel started using again, and it was her fault. Sara went missing, her fault. Dinah not visiting, her fault. No matter what happened, Felicity was blamed. No one could quite figure out why she’d made Felicity the target of her anger. As far as Quentin knew, they had barely interacted before Felicity moved away from Starling.

The rest of the day was uneventful and soon, Felicity found herself in the foundry with the others. Oliver wanted to move on Tobias Church, since Prometheus was probably still recovering. He wanted to strike before Church had a chance to regroup after the failed attack on City Hall.

“You guys have fun with that. I’m gonna pass.” Felicity said.

“Why?” Digg wondered.

“Do you have short term memory loss or something?” She responded. “Things between me, you and Oliver didn’t end so well two years ago. And last year only did so much to repair that broken trust. So, if its not a big threat, and Church doesn’t seem to be, I don’t see why I should come with you.”

“Felicity, we’re sorry.”

“Are you? Because you’ve done little to prove it and saying “sorry” isn’t all it takes.” She said. “I’m not saying I’ll never forgive you, but you haven’t earned it yet.” She took a deep breath. “You don’t need me for this and it gives me time to look into Prometheus. What’s his deal anyway?”

“We told you. He’s obsessed with Oliver and showing him who “he really is”.”

“That’s all you know? You don’t know what he’s planning, when he showed up in town, any of that?”

“Nope.”

“Wow.” She deadpanned. “Nice to know you all still kinda need me.” She said as she started typing. “Go stop your drug lord, I’ve got this.”

Roy, Digg and Oliver left to confront Church. Thea stayed behind to run the comms and watched Felicity work. She was curious about what the blonde was doing to learn more about the masked killer.

“Out of curiosity, what are you doing?”

“I “borrowed” a few programs from ARGUS to run Prometheus recent activities through them. Also, cross-checking with recent new arrivals to town.” She answered. “I don’t know if I’ll find anything, but its worth a shot.”

“How do you even know where to start?”

“I spent a long time looking for people who didn’t want to be found. I’ve gotten good at it.” She answered. “It helps that his buddies remind me of someone.”

“You’ve met his lackeys before? Where? When?” Thea asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity points out some similarities between Prometheus and a past foe of Oliver, while Nyssa gets some surprising news.

“I “borrowed” a few programs from ARGUS to run Prometheus recent activities through them. Also, cross-checking with recent new arrivals to town.” Felicity said. “I don’t know if I’ll find anything, but its worth a shot.”

“How do you even know where to start?”

“I spent a long time looking for people who didn’t want to be found. I’ve gotten good at it.” She answered. “It helps that his buddies remind me of someone.”

“You’ve met his soldiers before? Where? When?” Thea asked.

“Not “his” soldiers per se, but I’ve met people who fight similar to them.” She said. “And if I’m not mistaken, so have you.”

“No, I haven’t. I’m pretty sure I’d remember that.”

Felicity took a deep breath before opening up a video file she’d found in her searches. She tried to decide the best way to prove her point, and decided to just get straight to the details. “Okay, I want you to watch this. Just look at this guy,” she pointed to one of Prometheus’s masked men, “the way he moves, how he acts. Ignore Prometheus and the others, including the team.” She pressed play on the video.

Thea watched the footage intently. She did as Felicity instructed but couldn’t quite see what Felicity was saying. The man’s movements didn’t look that unique to her. They were familiar, but not recognizable. She couldn’t say where she’d seen them before.

“I’m sorry. I still don’t see it.”

“We’ll wait for the others to come back and I’ll see if they’re seeing the same things I am.” The blonde said. “Maybe I just have a better eye for detail.”

Adrian Chase glared at the man in front of him. His mentor wasn’t happy with his lack of progress in destroying Oliver Queen. Her second-in-command, the man in front of him, just informed him that he needed to make substantial progress soon or she’d need to reevaluate how they planned on moving forward.

“Did she give you a definition of “substantial progress” by any chance?” Chase asked.

“She did not. I believe she’s decided to see what happened before determining what her benchmark for headway is.” The masked man answered. “The men she sent with you are all dead, which she is not happy about.”

“Well, before she abandons the plan, and her own revenge, you might wanna tell Talia that we missed something along the way.”

“And what would that be?”

Chase held up his hand, which was still bandaged. “The Arrow’s got more friends than we thought. Or I have more enemies than I thought.”

“What happened?”

“I drew the Arrow out. To destroy him, I needed to destroy his team first. We had them cornered, outnumbered.” He sighed. “Then, some sniper showed up and shot them. Jumped down from their nest and shot me. It’s hard to keep my cover as “just the DA” when there’s a gaping hole in my hand.”

“And yet, the injury hasn’t killed you. I fail to see the issue.”

“The “issue” is that we have an unknown variable to deal with. One Talia might’ve dealt with in the past. And I have no way of knowing how much damage this injury is gonna do.”

“I suggest you spend less time complaining about this shooter and more time training using your other hand then. Just in case.” The other man said. He and Chase had never gotten along and he’d never admit it, but he thought Talia was a fool for so quickly agreeing to train Adrian or help him in his cause. ‘I will pass this information along to her.”

He left Chase’s apartment and contacted Talia. True to his word, he repeated everything Adrian had told him about his last encounter with the Arrow. Talia was surprised to hear about this unknown entity being involved and ordered a few of her followers to look into the matter.

Oliver, John and Roy managed to apprehend Tobias Church very easily. He was still trying to regain his footing and come up with a new plan after failing to kill Oliver, so he didn’t have as much manpower or firepower at his disposal. His lackeys were easy enough to incapacitate and Oliver managed to knock him out and hand him over to the police with only a little bit of a fight.

The three men went back to the foundry after Church’s arrest. They found Felicity staring at a computer screen intently while Thea watched her warily from a few feet away.

“What’s going on?” Oliver asked his sister.

“Felicity thinks she knows Prometheus’s men. She’s been watching footage of them pretty much since you left.” Thea whispered.

“You know I can hear you, right?” Felicity said. “Oliver, Digg, Roy, come over here.” She gestured for them to move closer to the monitor she was looking at. “Watch this fight again.”

“Um, we were there when this happened.” Roy pointed out.

“Yes, but you were focused on fighting. In the moment, you miss things.” She said. “Look at this guy, not at yourselves or Prometheus.” She pressed play and they watched the fight unfold. When their enemies retreated, she stopped the video. “Look familiar?”

“I can’t really place it.” Roy said. Digg nodded in agreement.

“It’s the League. Those moves, I’ve seen you and Sara use them.” Oliver said in disbelief. “Prometheus is working with the League. Why would Nyssa-?”

“I don’t think she is. Despite what Malcolm would’ve wanted you to believe, despite what happened when Sara ran away, not everyone who leaves ends up dead.”

“You think Prometheus is a defector from the League.”

“Either that or he was trained by one.”

In Nanda Parbat, Nyssa was in the middle of a meditation session when an assassin stepped into the room. He cleared his throat and waited for her to give him permission to speak.

“What is it?”

“There has been….activity in Starling City.”

“Our business in Starling City was finished. Why should we concern ourselves with what happens there?”

“Because the activity is either that of the League or the organization your sister created after she left Nanda Parbat.”

“So, Talia is making a move against the Arrow. How…cliché.” She said, standing up from the floor. “Send a scout to Starling to observe and report. Warn them not to draw too much attention to themselves.”

“What of Al Shabh or-?”

“Neither of them are our foe.”

The rest of the team was reeling from Felicity’s revelation that Prometheus was either a former member of the League of Assassins or was the student of one. There were very few people who were allowed to leave the League and even fewer Ra’s wouldn’t have tried to get rid of if they started training others. Oliver didn’t think any existed or ever would.

“I mean, he wouldn’t just let someone join and then walk away.” Oliver said.

“He would, for the right reasons. Or if he didn’t stop them.” The blonde responded.

“You’re saying Ra’s met someone he couldn’t kill, overpower or threaten?” Roy said.

“No, but there might’ve been someone he didn’t want to kill or overpower. And thus, let them go.” She said. “After I escaped Russia but before I was Felicity, I heard rumors about the League of Assassins, but also about another group. Sam did too. This could be them.”

“Speaking of Sam, where is he? I’m surprised he didn’t come to town with you.” Digg said. He didn’t want to admit it, because he didn’t like Sam that much, but if this was a League defector, they might need Sam’s help to keep the situation under control.

“We’re…on a break.” She answered. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity tries to find answers, and runs into a few old faces. One is a more welcome sight than the other.

“Speaking of Sam, where is he? I’m surprised he didn’t come to town with you.” Digg said. He didn’t want to admit it, because he didn’t like Sam that much, but if this was a League defector, they might need Sam’s help to keep the situation under control.

“We’re…on a break.” She answered. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“You two broke up? How did that conversation go? What was that like?”

“I didn’t say we broke up, I said we’re on a break. We both need to figure things out.” Felicity said. “And you’ve been divorced John, I think you know what a break-up is like.”

“Did something happen?” Oliver asked. “Did Sam do something to you or-?”

“Really, Oliver? You think I’d need you to “take care of him” if he’d done something? I know you wanna ignore it, but I could kill everyone in here with both hands tied behind my back. I don’t need you to protect me.” She said. “And sometimes, things don’t work out the way you expect them to. Felicity Smoak and Samuel Standon aren’t the same people as Anastasia Rostova and Samuel Sokolov. Like I told Waller, the person I used to be is dead. Dead and buried and nothing’s gonna bring her back.”

“I understand that but-.”

“I’m gonna go call Sara. After I left, we got on better terms. Maybe she can give me some info.” The blonde said before leaving the foundry. She didn’t want to talk about her feelings towards Sam, or any man for that matter, with Oliver. It was just too weird.

Felicity left the club to make her phone call. As expected, Sara didn’t answer, but she left a message asking her to call her back. She looked at the phone, and pondered calling Sam, but decided not to. Then, she felt eyes on her. “Are you gonna just stand there in the dark or what?”

“I didn’t wanna just sneak up on you.” Lance said apologetically.

“Hi, Captain. How have you been?” She said with a small smile.

“Fine. I wanna- I need to talk to you about Laurel. She told me she ran into you earlier.”

“What about her?”

“I don’t- you moved away while she was dealing with a few things. I don’t know if Queen or Sara ever mentioned it.” He said. “But I imagine she didn’t react well to running into you.”

“No, she didn’t. And I don’t know why. She started shaking and seemed really unnerved when she saw me.” Felicity lied. “And whenever I called Oliver or anyone here, they never mentioned her. I think they wanted to give her time to deal with…. whatever she had going on.”

“She- a lot of things went wrong in her life around the time that you left. There was a bunch of psychobabble thrown at me, but to give you the gist of it, she was dealing with a lot, she needed someone to blame and-.”

“And she picked me for some reason.” She finished. “Well, at least I know I didn’t do anything wrong. I hope she gets better.”

“Thanks.” He said. “So, are you just visiting or-?”

“I think I’ll be here for a while this time.” She answered with a smile.

Lance said goodbye and left just as Thea walked outside to check on Felicity. She’d been gone for longer than anyone had expected. She told her Sara didn’t answer and that she was going to head home for the night. The chances of her finding anything online on Prometheus were slim, and she didn’t see the point in sitting around only to fail.

After Talia sent a few of her followers to discover who the sniper was, she turned to her second-in-command who’d met with Adrian Chase directly. “Did Chase have any other information to share?”

“He mostly complained about the unknown variable the sniper represents.” The man answered. “He was annoyed by the existence of a player he hadn’t accounted for, and seemed to direct that frustration towards you.”

“He’s angry at me?”

“I won’t speak for him, but he acted as if it was your fault he was unaware of this person’s presence or connection to the Arrow.” He said. That was a bit of an exaggeration, but Talia didn’t need to know that and Chase wasn’t here to defend himself. “After that, he started whinging about his hand.”

“His hand?”

“The sniper shot him in the hand with a handgun when he attempted to confront them for killing our brethren. He does not know how much damage the bullet has caused. You would think it had been amputated, given the amount of complaining.”

“The sniper was close enough to him to shoot him, but he wasn’t able to give you a good description?” She asked skeptically.

“I suppose it was dark, and they were hard to see. All he could tell me was “the sniper was short”. No detail beyond that.”

Two days passed. Adrian Chase’s “stomach flu” kept him out of work both days. The more time he spent cooped up, the angrier Prometheus got. He was going to make Oliver Queen suffer even more now, due to this setback. He bribed a doctor into looking at his hand, but the physician wasn’t able to tell him how bad the damage to the appendage was, since it needed to heal more. Chase began formulating a story for his injured hand, knowing he needed to go back to work. He couldn’t observe and plot against Oliver as efficiently if he didn’t know what the mayor was up to.

The second day after Felicity realized Prometheus, or whoever trained him, had been part of the League, she walked out of Jitters and felt someone watching her. She continued on her way, before turning down an alleyway. Her stalker followed and she spun around the face them.

“You wanna tell me why you’re following me?” She asked the man. He looked familiar; she’d definitely seen him in Nanda Parbat.

“I have a message from Nyssa al Ghul for the Arrow.” He said. “It is an urgent matter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa sends Team Arrow a message and Talia finds herself at a disadvantage.

The second day after Felicity realized Prometheus, or whoever trained him, had been part of the League, she walked out of Jitters and felt someone watching her. She continued on her way, before turning down an alleyway. Her stalker followed and she spun around the face them.

“You wanna tell me why you’re following me?” She asked the man. He looked familiar; she’d definitely seen him in Nanda Parbat.

“I have a message from Nyssa al Ghul for the Arrow.” He said. “It is an urgent matter.”

Felicity sighed. “What is the point in my giving her my phone number if she doesn’t just call me when stuff like this is happening?”

“I’m not sure.”

“That was a rhetorical question.” She turned to leave the alleyway. “Are you coming or what?”

She texted Thea, John, Oliver and Roy telling them to meeting her at the foundry as soon as possible. They must have believed her about the matter being urgent, because everyone except John, who was at a doctor’s appointment for Sara, made it to the lair before Felicity and her guest did.

“Before anyone pulls the “you let assassins into our hideout” card, he already knew where this place was. I’m pretty sure everyone in the League does, thanks to Nyssa and Sara.” She said.

“I think we’re all more curious about why he’s here and what this is about.” Oliver said neutrally.

“Right. You wanna-?” She gestured for the assassin to speak.

“I have a message from Nyssa al Ghul.”

“And that message is?”

“There has been someone at work in our city, someone you may not have encountered so far. It would be appreciated if you did not interfere as we attempt to apprehend this individual.”

“So, you’re here to tell us to stay out of your way?” Roy asked. “Okay.”

“Not okay.” Felicity cut in. “At least, not for me. I wanna know more. Because if this is another Malcolm Merlyn situation, someone on the run, so be it. We’ll stay away, but if you’re after Prometheus, we can’t really agree to that.”

“Prometheus?” The assassin asked. “Why would the Demon Head care about one of the Arrow’s foes?”

“Because he’s either a former member of the League or he was trained by someone who was trained by the League.” She said. “I would recognize the way he fights, and the way his little henchman fight, anywhere. And judging by your silence, he’s exactly who you’re here looking for.”

“In truth, I do not know for certain. We received word that someone operating similar to how the League operates was in Starling City. The person is likely part of a splinter organization we have spent decades trying to control. I was sent to see how true those rumors were.”

“So, you are here for Prometheus,” She summarized, “you just didn’t know it yet.”

“I suppose.”

“Then we can’t promise to stay out of it. He’s tried to kill us multiple times. To quote an old teacher of mine, “if someone tries to kill you, kill them back”. He seems to be fixated on us.”

“The League will-.”

“If she wants to fight Prometheus, without our help, she’s welcome to, but we aren’t just going to back off because you’re here now. She can aid us, she can decide not to, but we aren’t abandoning this search.”

“You have no idea what you are dealing with, who you would be going up against.”

Felicity took a step towards the assassin. “Every time I’ve heard that, I haven’t had a problem. And every person who ever told me that has wound up dead. I’ll take my chances.”

“I will tell Nyssa what you have said. Our next course of action has not been decided yet.”

“Before you do that, I’d like to know what her theory is. This “other organization”, what’s the story there? I doubt Prometheus is their leader, but someone is. What does the League know?”

“Are you sure having an assassin meet with Felicity is a good idea?” Sara asked Nyssa. “She might not react well to one of us just showing up.”

“Felicity Smoak has only ever wanted to live peacefully, but other factors prevented it. As long as the assassin I sent does not try to attack her, I expect she’ll at least hear what he has to say.” Her girlfriend answered. “We’ve been remiss and ignored most news from Starling City lately. We can no longer afford to do that. And we need her help.”

“How do you know she’s even in Starling?” Sara didn’t want to sound so skeptical, but Felicity could be anywhere, she knew how to fit in anywhere.

“It’s the only place she ever felt somewhat happy.” Nyssa answered. “Her presence was confirmed before I gave the order. We stand a better chance of prevailing against Talia with her help.”

“Is Talia really that bad?” Like most of the League, Sara had never met Talia, so she had no idea what the woman was like or what she was capable of. Nyssa was the only person who knew her well enough to say what she would or wouldn’t do.

“Talia is my father’s daughter in every sense of the word.” She answered. “I do not know why she’s interested in Starling City or Oliver Queen, but I doubt the city will be better for it.”

If Talia al Ghul didn’t have as much control of her emotions as she did, she would’ve thrown something against the wall by now. At the beginning, this alliance with Adrian Chase made perfect sense. Chase hated Oliver for killing his father, and Talia hated him for reasons related to her own. Why wouldn’t she help Chase destroy Oliver? The partnership was excellent in theory, but in practice it was an entirely different monster. A plot which could have been over weeks, if not months ago, was being dragged out.

Now, Talia needed to take this unknown sniper into account. Chase hadn’t been able to provide any useful information about this person, but somehow expected her to narrow down who they were facing with no information whatsoever.

Neither the League nor Talia’s own organization tended to pay snipers much mind. They used guns, which was seen as a sign of weakness and a lack of skill. She’d heard a rumor that her father had been searching for a particular sniper, but her inside source had been killed for being a spy before she could learn how the search ended. She assumed Ra’s would have killed the sniper by now. Someone cleared their throat behind Talia.

“What?”

“A member of the League of Assassins was spotted in Starling City. Looking for Oliver Queen.”

“So, my sister is finally paying attention.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity hears Nyssa's theory about what's going on, Talia tells her side of the story and Chase grows tired of waiting.

“I will tell Nyssa what you have said. Our next course of action has not been decided yet.” The League member said.

“Before you do that, I’d like to know what her theory is. This “other organization”, what’s the story there? I doubt Prometheus is their leader, but someone is. What does the League know?” Felicity asked.

“I am afraid I cannot share that information with-.”

“Ok, you can just tell me or I can make you tell me.” She cut him off. “Either way, you’re gonna tell me, but you seem like an okay guy and I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. Besides, Nyssa knows me pretty well, I know her pretty well, I’m sure she expected this exact conversation to happen.”

“Decades ago, the Ra’s al Ghul you killed met a woman and had a child. A girl names Talia.”

“Talia?” Oliver asked. Felicity turned to look at him, wondering why hearing that name surprised him. “It doesn’t matter, it can wait.”

“Talia’s mother died when she was young, so she was mostly raised by her father. She was trained to be an assassin from the moment she could crawl, and she excelled at it. When she reached adulthood, she asked her father when she would replace him as Demon Head. He ridiculed that belief and told her she wasn’t worthy to inherit his title. Realizing she would never get the one thing she wanted, Talia stole a supply of water from the Lazarus Pit and left Nanda Parbat. She formed her own organization, which her father was aware of but never attempted to move against or destroy.”

“Let me guess, Nyssa thinks Talia trained Prometheus.” Felicity said.

“By our accounts, he and his men fight like members of the League of Assassins. Yet, he is not one of us. Aside from yourself and Samuel Standon, Talia is the only person to leave the League of Assassins that remains alive.” The assassin said. “And I am under the impression neither you nor your beloved took on any pupils since leaving.”

“You’re right. We haven’t.” She answered. “Is Nyssa planning on coming here to deal with Talia or do I have to do all of the work again?”

“Once she has confirmation her sister is here, yes.” He seemed to realize he didn’t have a reason to stay here, so he left, leaving Felicity, Roy, Digg, Oliver and Thea standing in the foundry.

“Why’d you react to the name Talia?” Felicity asked Oliver.

“I kinda- I met a woman named Talia, while I was….away.” He said. “I was in Russia, it was when I joined the Bratva. She never told me her last name. You don’t think she’s the same woman, do you?”

“Everyone in this room has the crappiest luck ever, so it probably is.” She remarked. “I need to make a call.”

“Who?” Thea asked.

“Sam. We might be…whatever we are right now, but if we’re dealing with some off-shoot of the League, we might need his help.”

Sam was sitting on a beach in Hawaii when his phone started to ring. Only one person had this number, so he knew who was calling him without needing to look at the caller ID. “Hello, Ana.”

“For like the fifth time, I’d prefer if you called me Felicity.” She said. “That’s not- I didn’t call to debate my name with you.”

“Then why did you call?”

“Ra’s al Ghul had another daughter. She has her own, knock-off League of Assassins and they’re heading to Starling City, I think.” She said. “So, you know, if you wanna help me deal with that, for old time’s sake, that would be great.”

“I will, with one stipulation.”

“You’re putting conditions on helping me?”

“A small one. We need to finish the conversation we started in Sydney.” He said.

“Fine. Afterwards.” She said before hanging up.

After Talia learned Nyssa had sent assassins to Starling, she ordered her own students to begin preparing to leave for the city. She knew it would take her sister longer to mobilize her forces and wanted to remain one step ahead of her for as long as she could. While she was preparing to leave, her second-in-command entered her chambers.

“There is something I would like to know.” He said. “And I am not the only one.”

“What is it?”

“You trained Adrian Chase so he could seek revenge against Oliver Queen. You pledged our forces to his cause. While its well-known why he seeks revenge, I do not understand why you wish to get revenge on Oliver Queen.”

“Are you questioning my leadership?”

“No. I simply feel that, since I do not understand your motivations fully, I cannot properly advise you or lead our brethren effectively.” He said.

“Oliver Queen killed Adrian Chase’s father. And he had a hand in killing mine.” Talia said.

“I thought your father was killed by the person he named as his heir.”

“And his heir was a former student of Queen’s.”

Talia hadn’t heard about her father’s death until weeks after it had happened. Her spy in Nanda Parbat wasn’t there when he was killed, so all he was able to tell her was what he heard from the others. Ra’s al Ghul was killed by his heir who then passed the title to Nyssa and vanished. Her spy had never been in the same room as the heir, so he could only relay what he heard from others.

As a result of Felicity’s origins being so mysterious, very few knew her story. Most of the foot soldiers knew Felicity had a connection to Oliver Queen and assumed the Arrow had been Felicity’s teacher and her skills caught the Demon Head’s attention when he traveled to Starling to confront Oliver. Given that no one had seen or heard from her father’s heir, Talia assumed the woman died or was killed, and thus Oliver was the only person she had left to blame.

When the hand surgeon gave Adrian his initial diagnosis, the man became so angry that, for a moment, he dropped his trustworthy D.A. façade and the doctor saw a glimpse of the sociopath lurking underneath. Subconsciously, the doctor took a step back upon seeing the pure hatred in his eyes.

“Repeat that.” Chase demanded. He then calmed himself somewhat. “Please.”

“There was quite a bit of damage to the nerves in your hand. I can’t- only time will tell if you’ll regain full use of it.”

“I’m gonna have a useless hand?” He asked incredulously.

“You have some use now, and a high degree of feeling.” The doctor pointed out. “But I can’t guarantee your injury will heal with no lingering problems.”

Chase stood up and walked out of the office. He was pissed at the doctor’s inability to give him a definitive answer. He was enraged that his plan for revenge might be foiled by a single injury. Mostly, though, he felt murderous. The sniper had injured him far too easily. He wouldn’t get caught unaware next time. He’d kill the sniper as soon as he’d gotten revenge on Oliver. Speaking of Oliver, it had been days since their last confrontation, and Chase meant to change that. It was time for Oliver’s suffering to truly begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a real conversation with Oliver for the first time since coming back, and runs into someone on patrol.

After Nyssa received confirmation from her sources in Starling that Talia was in fact involved in the attempt to ruin Oliver’s life, she ordered a faction of the League to prepare to head to the city. Oliver wasn’t her favorite person, but she knew he couldn’t handle the threat of Talia on his own. She knew Felicity could’ve handled it just fine, but a part of her wanted to thwart Talia and prove that she was better than her sister who always had such scorn for her.

“What exactly is the plan here?” Sara asked.

“Stop Talia and her followers. Regardless of the cost.”

“You’re planning to kill your sister?”

“We have the same father, but I don’t consider us to be family. I haven’t seen her since I was a child. She left Nanda Parbat, and left me behind, knowing I would suffer at my father’s hands.” She answered. “So, yes. I will kill her if necessary, and she will probably make it necessary.”

After Felicity called Sam, she took a seat in the corner of the lair and began going through her weapons, cleaning them. It was a boring, but methodical task. It was easier for her to focus on the sidearms in front of her, allowing her to distract herself from what she was feel.

“I take it you’re nervous.” Oliver remarked.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, ever since- since we learned about your past, when you’re nervous, or you don’t wanna think about something, you tend to clean your guns. Or you just start taking them apart and putting them back together.” He said. “You know, if you wanna talk-.”

“I don’t, hence why I’m reassembling my sniper rifle.” She answered. “You know, I can put this together blindfolded in under a minute? I don’t know when that would be useful, but I’m able to do it. Some people do crossword puzzles or yoga to relax, I put together weapons.”

“It’s something you’re used to.”

“Not just used to. I keep hearing that asshole’s voice my head, telling me how my weapons are an extension of who I am and if I don’t maintain it properly, I might as well start cutting off my own fingers.” She said. “How messed up is that? Over a decade after I fought my way out, and I’m still doing what they told me to.”

“I don’t think its that simple. Trauma leaves scars everywhere, you can’t just pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Where did this new, understanding, not-judgy Oliver come from?” She asked pointedly. “Because I remember you not have very nice things to say about my past, what I’ve done and how I’ve coped. Also, you shot me with an arrow.”

“And I’m sorry about that. Shooting you wasn’t- I shouldn’t have done that.” He admitted.

“Still, why are you suddenly so understanding?”

“I realized I’d been a jerk to you. I did thing to survive I’m not proud of. You did things to survive you weren’t proud of. You went through a lot more crap than I did, and it was a dick-move of me to condemn you for trying to survive and get away from the situation you were stuck in. And when you joined the League, I shouldn’t have acted like it was my job to save you or something.”

“Did you go to therapy when I was gone or something?”

“No, but I had plenty of time to reflect.” He said. “Think you can forgive me?”

“I’ll think about it.” She answered before turning back to her weapons. 

“What’ve you been up to since you left?” He asked. He wanted his friendship with Felicity back, and he didn’t want her to think that he only cared about her as a fighter. He figured asking her a little bit about her trip was a safe topic. “Go anywhere interesting, do anything fun?”

“I buried my parents. After I left, well, after I killed Nyssa’s dad and told her to be the Demon Head, I went back to the base where I was raised. I dug my parents out of their shallow graves and I buried them somewhere better.” She said. “I know that’s probably not the answer you were expecting, but it’s the most important thing I did. it was something I spent years knowing I needed to do, but not being able to.”

“Can I ask where?”

“In the old files, I found out where my mother was from. She grew up in this tiny village near this river. I buried them under a tree near the river, so they’d have a nice view. I don’t know, it just felt right.”

“They’re your parents, and based on what you told me, they died trying to get you out of that place.” He said.

“Not everyone shares your sentiments. Some people think it was a dumb, sentimental thing that I did because I feel guilty, even though I shouldn’t and that they’re not worth the effort I spent trying to put them to rest.” She said before closing her eyes and clearing her throat. “Sorry, you don’t need to know about my personal problems.”

“I don’t need to, but if you need to talk, I can listen.”

“Thanks, but I think my relationship issues are more up Thea’s alley.” She said.

The team, and Felicity, went out on patrol. Digg and Oliver took one side of town, while Felicity and Roy took the other. Roy remarked about how the blonde really didn’t want to be around Oliver or Digg, which she didn’t entirely dispute.

“It’s not that I don’t wanna be around them, it’s a trust thing. They broke my trust. And if I’m going out onto the mean streets of Starling, to fight bad guys, I need to trust the person having my back. They need to earn my trust back.”

“What are you gonna do when this is all over? Are you gonna stay or-?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I- shh. Someone’s coming.”

“You’re more attuned than I gave you credit for.” Prometheus said, stepping out of the shadows. “I don’t suppose you wanna tell me who you are?” He hadn’t meant to run into Felicity and Roy, he was hoping for Oliver, but since they were here, he figured he might as well kill them.

Felicity was dressed in all black. She had her hair pulled back and tucked underneath a hat. The bottom half of her face was covered by a scarf. Her eyes were the only part of her that was visible. To top that off, she’d outfitted her new armor with the same voice modulator that the others had, making it impossible to gauge anything from her voice. “No thanks. How’s the hand?”

“I’ll live.” He said. He knew better than to admit weakness, so there was no way he’d tell her that his hand was useless for the time being. He didn’t want to give her any kind of advantage. “The same can’t be said for either of you.” He drew his sword, which Felicity noticed he did with his non-dominant hand.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” She said before he attacked. “I’ve killed every person that’s ever made the threat that you just did. I wish you luck but- history’s not really on your side.”

“You haven’t fought me.” He pointed out.

“Fine.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Arsenal, give me some room. This won’t take long.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prometheus vs. Felicity, who will win?

“How’s the hand?” Felicity asked Prometheus in a taunting tone.

“I’ll live.” He said. He knew better than to admit weakness, so there was no way he’d tell her that his hand was useless for the time being. He didn’t want to give her any kind of advantage. “The same can’t be said for either of you.” He drew his sword, which Felicity noticed he did with his non-dominant hand.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” She said before he attacked. “I’ve killed every person that’s ever made the threat that you just did. I wish you luck but- history’s not really on your side.”

“You haven’t fought me.” He pointed out.

“Fine.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Arsenal, give me some room. This won’t take long.”

Roy took a few steps back, not wanting to get in the way of Felicity or Prometheus once this fight began. Felicity got into a defensive stance and motioned for him to move. Eager for a fight, he rushed towards her, brandishing his sword. At the last moment before his blade made contact, she leaned out of the way. He was now off-balance and she elbowed him in the solar plexus. That was followed up by a hit to the face.

Prometheus recovered from the feign and moved to strike her again. This time, she blocked the sword directly with her arm, before using his momentum to flip him onto his back. The masked man scoffed and jumped to his feet, preparing for a third attempt. Before he could slash at her again, she landed a jab to his ribs. It wouldn’t end the fight, but it would certainly slow him down briefly.

“Fight me!” He shouted.

“I am. It’s not my fault you haven’t managed to land a single blow.” She said calmly. “Then again, you are clearly the weaker of us, so I’m not surprised.”

“Weak?! I’m not weak!”

“You’re the one unwilling to fight me directly, relying on a sword to do the real work for you.”

“Says the sniper who killed my men.” He retorted. “If using a sword makes me weak, what are you?”

“Better than you, despite your attempts to goad me into getting angry.” She said. “Yes, I killed them with a rifle, because I was executing them. I didn’t see fighting them, as we are now, to be worth my time. And to be frank, you don’t seem to be either.”

Hearing that he wasn’t worth her time angered Prometheus. It was the last straw. Nothing was going according to plan. Oliver wasn’t suffering, his team was still alive, Prometheus was injured and now this random sniper was being dismissive of him. “You wanna duke it out?” He asked rhetorically. “Fine.” He threw his sword aside. “Let’s fight.”

Roy nearly face-palmed. Prometheus trying to fight Felicity in the first place was stupid. Fighting her in hand-to-hand combat was downright suicidal. The young archer was hoping this fight would get rid of Prometheus for good, so he couldn’t find himself feeling too upset about what was about to happen.

Chase went to punch Felicity, but she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. it was his bad arm, so she bent back even further before releasing him and stepping away. He then tried to kick her, but she deflected it. As she knocked his foot away, she smoothly aimed her own kick at him, which hit him square in the chest. He stumbled backwards and before he could recover, another kick hit him in the head.

“Do you wanna just surrender now, or-?” She asked as he got to his feet.

“No way in Hell.” He spat out.

“Fine.” She sighed before running at him full speed.

He tried to duck out of her path, but she was expecting that and wrapped her legs around his neck. Using her momentum, she tossed him onto the ground. She then kicked him in the side for good measure. While he was catching his breath, she went to remove his mask. She was pulling it off when he got a lucky shot in, hitting her in the face.

“Well that wasn’t very nice.” She said.

“Can’t let you spoil the surprise just yet.” He said, getting up. He was starting to fade, but he knew if he backed away now, he’d never live it down. He’d gotten one blow in, so it was possible for him to turn this fight around.

“Okay, except before, I was annoyed. Now? I’m pissed.” She responded.

“I’m scared, can’t you tell?” He deadpanned.

The last thing Prometheus remembered after that was her running at him. One of his men found him an hour later, unmasked and barely breathing. Their doctor told him he had a broken femur, three broken ribs and dozens of deep contusions all over his body. He also possibly had a concussion. Adrian didn’t care about any of that, he cared about what being found unmasked meant.

Had the sniper he fought learned his identity? Or had he removed it himself before passing out?

“That was….I knew you could fight but-.” Roy started to say. “Wow.”

“Thanks. That was a good wow, right?” Felicity responded.

“Definitely a good wow.”

They entered the Arrow cave and found John, Oliver and Thea waiting. “Where were you? You turned your comm off and didn’t report in.”

“Yeah, because we ran into Prometheus.” Felicity said.

“You ran into Prometheus?” Oliver asked.

“More accurately, his face ran into her fist multiple times.” Roy piped up. “It was awesome.”

“As fun as that was, and as entertaining you found it, there’s something more important we learned.” She said. “I’m not the conceited type, but I’m not gonna pretend to be humble. I didn’t just fight him, I kicked his ass. As in, he was bleeding on the pavement when we left. He’ll live though. Guys like him, getting killed is preferable to admitting he failed and lost.”

“I’m not seeing what that has to do with-.”

“Well, I knocked the masked psycho out. And since he wasn’t awake to stop me, I got to see who’s under the mask.” She said.

“You saw his face?” Digg asked.

“Yup, you guys have too.” She said. “Prometheus is Adrian Chase.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Due to personal reasons, I will not be updating next week.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team reacts to Felicity's revelation.

“Well, I knocked the masked psycho out. And since he wasn’t awake to stop me, I got to see who’s under the mask.” Felicity said to the others.

“You saw his face?” Digg asked.

“Yup, you guys have too.” She said. “Prometheus is Adrian Chase.”

“Cha- Adrian Chase is Prometheus.” Oliver said. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. You think I came to Starling and didn’t bother to Google basic information about public officials?” She asked. “I know what he looks like. Unless, of course, you’re asking because you don’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, its just-.”

“If this city can elect a mayor that’s connected to Slade Wilson, its not impossible for the DA to be a serial killer.” She pointed out. “And Chase being Prometheus certainly explains where he’s been. He hasn’t been into work since the day after I shot Prometheus in the hand, right?”

“That could be a coincidence. Just to play devil’s advocate.”

“It could be, but there’s no illness I know of that would make him sick for this long, but not sick enough to wind up in the hospital.” She said. “Unless the disease is “I got shot in the hand and can’t explain the injury in a non-sketchy way” itis. I’ve had that one before.”

“If Chase is Prometheus, why’s he obsessed with Oliver? There has to be a reason, right?” Thea asked.

“There could be. Or he could just be crazy. We’ll look into him and in the meantime, I’d avoid being alone with the DA. Actually, don’t be alone with anyone at the DA’s office, based on how Laurel’s been acting.”

“You found out who he is, and you’re saying we shouldn’t confront him?”

“Chase is….well, to put it bluntly, I messed him up real bad. I may have even broken his leg. He might be smart and blame it on a car accident, although his injuries aren’t exactly consistent with one. Anyway, he won’t be doing much for the next few weeks. His friends in black might though. We move too quickly, we might spook them. And these guys don’t react well to getting spooked. Not to mention we have no idea what their goal is or why Talia al Ghul, of all people, has decided to get involved.”

She might’ve never met Talia, but there was no way any child of Ra’s al Ghul would get involved in this without a good reason. Prometheus’s desire to destroy Oliver wouldn’t be enough of a motive to justify training him, let alone helping him in this quest.

Adrian tuned out most of what the doctor told him after he was taken back to his hideout. He lost. He fought the sniper and she’d beaten him. She hadn’t just beaten him, she could’ve killed him, yet she didn’t. He couldn’t fathom why. He was heavily wounded, he had lost consciousness, why hadn’t she gone in for the kill?

One of his men was talking to Talia, but he could only hear every other word or so. After the doctor left, the man came into the room and handed Chase a disposable cell phone.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I stumbled upon one of Queen’s teammates, along with the sniper who killed three of my men.”

“I think you mean _my_ men.”

“The sniper who killed the three assassins with me.” He corrected. “I decided to engage them in a fight. I was doubtful a sniper would be a good warrior in close quarters. I was proven wrong.”

“More than wrong, if what Amir told me can be believed.” She said. “I will need more detail, to get a better sense of who this enemy is.”

“At first, she was on the defensive. She didn’t fight, instead just dodging all of my attacks. Then, I got angry and attacked harder. I lost my sword, we began fighting hand-to-hand.”

“You lost your sword?” Talia asked skeptically. If she was surprised about the sniper being a woman, her voice didn’t indicate it.

“She goaded me into letting go of it.”

“You gave up your weapon in response to a taunt? Have I taught you nothing?” She said. “Continue.”

“We fought. She moved….some of her moves are similar to ours, others I didn’t recognize in the slightest. She nearly unmasked me, I hit her in the face, which angered her. The last thing I remember is her running towards me at full speed.”

“She beat you unconscious, yet she didn’t kill you?”

“It would seem so.”

“Or perhaps she was aware she didn’t need to kill you.” Talia concluded. “What injuries did you sustain?”

“There’s my old hand injury. A lot of bruising, three broken ribs, a concussion and a broken femur.”

“So, you are useless, then.” She muttered, barely loud enough to be heard. With his injuries, it would be months until he recovered, if not years. She didn’t have any use for an injured fighter. “I’ll be in town in less than six hours. We will discuss this further then.”

“There’s something else.”

“What more could you have to tell me?”

“Amir found me with my mask off. I can’t say for certain how that happened or who removed it.”

“I imagine in a few hours, should the police would kick your door in, we will then have our answer. If you are not under arrest, I will see you when I arrive.”

After she’d hung up on Chase, Talia tried to think where this mysterious sniper had come from. Very few assassins were women, and even fewer were snipers. She should be able to further narrow down the list once she acquired more information.

After Felicity told Team Arrow what she’d learned from Prometheus, she sparred with Thea for a little while before going back to Oliver and Thea’s loft with them. The ride was silent. She could tell Oliver was feeling broody for having not seen the signs that Chase was Prometheus before.

“You couldn’t have known, you know.” She said after they arrived.

“What are you-?”

“About Chase. You couldn’t have known.” She repeated. “You’ve known him, what, five months?”

“Yeah.”

“And you knew me for almost two years when you found out my secret. You saw me everyday, for several hours a day, for over a year. Yet, you didn’t know my secret, didn’t even think I had one, until I told you. Some people are very good at manipulating others, take it from an expert. You saw what he wanted you to see.”

Felicity walked into the guest room and went to sleep soon after.

The next day, around seven AM, there was a knock on the door of the loft. Thea went to open it and found a man wearing sunglasses standing there. “Yay, I get the better looking Queen.”

“I’m sorry, do I-?”

“That’s right, we only met briefly.” He said, removing his sunglasses. “Sam Standon, AKA, Samuel Sokolov. Is Ana here?”

“If by Ana, you mean Felicity, yes.” She said, stepping out of the doorway.

He walked into the loft as Oliver was coming downstairs and Felicity came out of the guestroom. “Woah, looks like the gang’s all here.” Sam remarked. “So, Nyssa’s not an only child. Who would’ve guessed?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia grills Chase, Sara pays someone a visit and Felicity really wants to avoid any emotional conversations for a little bit.

The next day, around seven AM, there was a knock on the door of the loft. Thea went to open it and found a man wearing sunglasses standing there. “Yay, I get the better looking Queen.”

“I’m sorry, do I-?”

“That’s right, we only met briefly.” He said, removing his sunglasses. “Sam Standon, AKA, Samuel Sokolov. Is Ana here?”

“If by Ana, you mean Felicity, yes.” She said, stepping out of the doorway.

He walked into the loft as Oliver was coming downstairs and Felicity came out of the guestroom. “Woah, looks like the gang’s all here.” Sam remarked. “So, Nyssa’s not an only child. Who would’ve guessed?”

“What exactly does that mean?” Thea asked.

“I take it you haven’t spent much time with Nyssa, because everything about her screams “only child”. The fact that she has a sister is-.”

“Not the point.” Felicity said. “Her sister wanting to destroy Oliver, for whatever reason, is the only reason why we care.” The blonde left out the fact that Talia was also the only reason why Sam was here and the only reason she called him in the first place.

“All work and no play makes Ana-.”

“Stop. Just….dont.” She said before walking into the kitchen. “I haven’t had enough coffee for this.”

While Sam seemed a little upset by her response, it didn’t surprise him. It did surprise Oliver and Thea, however, who knew Felicity and Sam were having issues, but didn’t expect it to be so clear. Oliver followed Felicity into the kitchen.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Oliver.” She said without turning around.

“I thought not. Am I at least allowed to ask if you’re okay?”

“You are. And I’m fine. I just- let’s stop Talia and then we can worry about my personal life. It doesn’t matter right now.”

“You’re clearly upset.”

“I’m good at compartmentalizing.”

Nyssa, Sara and the League landed outside of Starling and moved into one of the hideouts they kept in the city. Nyssa wanted to immediately send as many scouts out as possible, but she knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. Talia wasn’t like other enemies she faced. She had been raised in the League, as Nyssa was, she knew exactly how they worked and what they would do. Or, at least, how Ra’s worked and what he would do. The only advantage they currently had was that Talia hadn’t seen her sister since she was a child. In order to set-up surveillance and reconnaissance, Nyssa needed to act in a way that was strategic, but different from what her father would do.

“So, we’re here. What do we do now?” Sara asked.

“You should go visit your family, and your friends.”

“What?”

“Talia knows what the League of Assassins would normally do: stay in the shadows, observe what we can and then determine a plan of attack. She cannot account exactly for decisions I might make or individuals she doesn’t know. We are meant to be ghosts. If you made your presence known, at least, and visited your loved ones, it might throw her off-kilter. And it gives us a way of learning what Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak know without seeming suspicious. You’re just visiting some old friends.”

“You call her Felicity now?” Sara asked suddenly. She agreed with the rest of what Nyssa said, but the brunette referring to Felicity by that name surprised her. She’s always heard her refer to Felicity as Al Shabh.

“She said, when our paths briefly crossed a few months ago, that that’s what she wished to be called.”

Sara took Nyssa’s advice and went to the SCPD to visit her father. He gave her a quick recap of what was going on in the city, including what Prometheus was up to. He also mentioned off-hand that while Laurel had been doing well, seeing Felicity seemed to set her back. Sara nodded in understanding but didn’t comment. She wanted Laurel to be okay, but at the same time, she couldn’t really blame Felicity for how things had worked out.

After leaving the precinct, Sara’s next stop was Oliver’s lair, which was noticeably empty. She was expecting at least Thea and Roy to be there, since they worked right about the foundry and the club was closed during the day. Yet, it was empty and Sara had a few hours to herself.

Oliver, Thea, Felicity and Sam came into the lair around 5:30pm. The two Queens seemed surprised to see Sara, but the former assassins gave her a look that said “about time you showed up”. She was about to ask why when Felicity spoke.

“You here about Talia or your sister?”

“Talia. Why would I-?”

“Because your sister had a huge freakout when she saw me and given what happened last time you didn’t like what happened to your sister… let’s just say, if you wanted to fight me again, I wouldn’t be surprised.” She answered. “Not that I’m upset. If you had come here looking for a fight, I would’ve pointed out that your sister’s problems aren’t my problem, nor are they a priority right now. If you decide later you wanna fight me, I’ll oblige after we handle Talia.”

“It seems to me there’s a lot you don’t wanna do until after we deal with Talia.” Sam remarked.

“Yes, because the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people are a little more important than Lance family drama or us talking about our feelings.” Felicity snapped. “So, Talia.”

“The League wants to know what else you know.”

“I’m pretty sure her student, his name’s Prometheus by the way, called her for back-up. I wouldn’t blame him, I did kill half of his people. And shot him in the hand. And last night I beat him to a pulp and broke his femur.” She answered. “So, if she’s not already here, she’s on her way.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“Yup, but that’s not a League concern. Talia is.” Felicity said in a tone that dared someone to argue with her.

There was a reason she didn’t want the League to know Chase was Prometheus. They’d kill him at their earliest convenience, and then the team wouldn’t get the answers they were after, such as why Prometheus was targeting Oliver. Keeping them focused on Talia gave her time to learn more about Chase.

Sara spent a little while longer talking with the team before leaving to tell Nyssa what she’d learned.

Talia landed in Starling, with her men, and traveled to Adrian’s hideout. He was still bedridden, given his extensive injuries. Talia ordered a few of her followers to learn what they could of Oliver and the League’s whereabouts while she spoke with him.

“If your injuries did not conflict with my plans, I would be impressed by this woman’s skill.” She remarked once they were alone. “It appears she made you look like an amateur.”

“No, she-.”

“Not only did she wound you, she wounded you to the point where you were unable to make an escape. That is something only an amateur would allow to happen.” She cut him off. “Yet, despite your injuries, your encounter with her is serendipitous.”

“I have a broken leg, broken ribs and I might never wield a sword again.” He pointed out. “How is any of that good?”

“Because you fought this woman and survived, which means there is information you can share with me.” She said, barely managing not to roll her eyes. “Let’s start with the basics. What did she look like?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? She was close enough to you to pummel you, but you cannot describe a single thing about her?”

“She had a scarf covering the lower half of her face. Thicker than the ones we wear. Her hair was up, it was dark in the alley, so I can’t say if she’s blonde or brunette.”

“That doesn’t matter. Hair can be dyed. She could’ve been wearing a wig. Her height?”

“Not very tall. Around your height.”

“Her fighting style?”

“Like nothing I’d seen before. She recognized my moves, she even used a few against me. But it was clear she knew more than one type of martial art.” He answered. “Am I still useless to you?”

Chase was a little bitter than she’d called him useless. Oliver was supposed to be suffering, but he wasn’t. All because of the sniper he’d encountered. His plan, because despite Talia’s claims it was his plan, was completely falling apart. All because Chase didn’t know about the mystery woman and thus couldn’t have accounted for her involvement.

“I have yet to decide what use you may still have.”

Chase was about to make another comment when one of Talia’s followers entered the room. “We have spotted several League members in the vicinity, including your sister. They appear to be gathering.”

“We should go say “hello”. It has been some time since I last saw my sister, after all.” Talia remarked before walking out. She’d decide what to do with Adrian later. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere.

“Well, that was quick.” Felicity said, turning away from her computers and standing up. “I thought it would take at least a day.”

“Thought what would?” Oliver asked.

“Nyssa and Talia to confront one another.” She said. “Because I’ve spotted some League members, which means Talia’s people did too. So, Nyssa’s people and Talia’s people are on the way to fight one another. We should probably tag along.”

No one disagreed with Felicity, so everyone suited up and headed in the direction Nyssa seemed to be going. Felicity doubted this fight would be the only one, but she wanted to gauge her enemy and get a better understanding of what they were dealing with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation between Talia and Nyssa quickly becomes a confrontation.

After Felicity found the location where Nyssa and Talia were going to run into one another, the team got dressed and headed to the location. As they were suiting up, Oliver noticed Felicity was assembling one of her sniper rifles.

“I thought we were just going to observe.”

“That’s the plan, but our plans normally don’t go the way we want them to. Besides, if I get the chance to sideline some of Talia’s followers now, it’ll help us later.”

“And if it turns into a bloodbath?”

“I don’t think it will. I think this confrontation is gonna be more about Talia and Nyssa trying to intimidate and threaten each other. if a fight starts, I can see them both deciding to retreat.”

“How do you know that when you’ve never met Talia?” He asked.

“Because, unfortunately, I’ve been in this situation more times than I ever wanted to be.” She said. “Let’s get this over with.”

Talia and her followers rounded a corner in a bad part of the Glades. They found themselves on a side street with Nyssa and the League waiting on the other side of the road. The two sides stood there for a moment, staring at one another and trying to judge how difficult of a fight they had ahead of them.

“Nyssa.” Talia said.

“Talia.” Her sister replied. “What bring you to Starling City?”

“Are you truly going to act as if you don’t know?” She challenged. “Are you going to play dumb as well, Oliver?” She said, addressing the vigilante hiding on the roof.

Oliver, Digg and Roy came out of their hiding spots and stepped onto the street.

“You’ve met my sister.” Nyssa remarked, sounding only slightly surprised.

“Unlike you, I didn’t feel the need to inform everyone of who our father was.” She said. “I met him in Moscow, but didn’t tell him my surname. You haven’t answered my question.”

“I know you’re here because of Prometheus, I know he’s your student. But I’ve got no clue why you trained him in the first place or why you’d help him come after me.”

“You killed his father, and after I trained him, but before he planned your suffering, your student killed mine!” Talia responded.

“What?”

“The woman who killed our father, Al Shabhs, I know she was once your student. Do not try to deny it. So, I tasked my own students with killing you.”

“There are so many things wrong with that statement, its not even funny.” Sam said, walking into the light. “So, you’re either a fool or someone lied to you.”

“And you are?”

Sam smirked. A moment later, the soldier standing to Talia’s left fell to the ground. Soon after, the one on her right fell over as well. The League stood firm, but Talia’s forces started to get antsy. Their leader was looking around, trying to figure out where the shots were coming from.

“You would lower yourself to relying on a sniper to defeat me?” She asked her sister. “Father would be ashamed of you.”

“He was always ashamed of me.”

“And she didn’t know this was happening.” Sam revealed. “See, our sniper doesn’t use a rifle because she’s afraid of a good fight. She uses one because these guys,” he gestured to Talia’s men, “aren’t really worth her time. I believe she told your buddy Prometheus that.”

“This isn’t over.” Talia warned as she ordered her people to retreat.

“No, it is far from it.” She agreed. When Talia was long gone, she turned to Sam. “Could you ask Felicity to come down from wherever she’s hidden please?”

A minute later, Felicity had made her way down to the ground and was walking over to Nyssa. “So, that’s Talia, huh?”

“May I ask why you interfered?”

“I wanted to test your sister. She could tell where Oliver was hiding out. I wanted to know if she sensed me as well. When she didn’t mention the other person eavesdropping, I knew she hadn’t noticed me. Firing a few shots seemed like the next move, since I wanted to know if she could figure out where I was firing from. She couldn’t. So, now I know what she will and won’t notice and what she can and can’t work out in the heat of the moment.”

“I had the situation under control.” She said.

“I know, but since she scampered off, with her dying men in tow, we can start working on a real plan.” The blonde responded.

The two groups went their separate ways. Team Arrow returned to the foundry where they discussed what Talia had revealed.

“She’s here because she wants to kill me.” Oliver said.

“No, she’s here because she wants to kill Ana, she just doesn’t know it yet.” Sam corrected.

“My name is Felicity, for the hundredth time. You wonder why I don’t wanna be around you, but you can’t even call me by the right name.” Felicity said. “We learned more than that. We know what she thinks happened and that she thinks the person who killed Ra’s is out of the picture.”

“Why would she think that?” Roy asked. “Why does she think Oliver trained you?”

“She thinks I’m dead because, in her mind, whoever killed Ra’s likely would’ve been killed by the League. That, and she mentioned my League name. She clearly has a mole in Nanda Parbat. I killed Ra’s, I left, no one reported seeing me since then, so I must be dead.” She said with a shrug. “As for Oliver being my mentor, I was a ghost. Ra’s only knew I existed because I got to some of the League’s targets before they could. She gets a report from her spy saying an ally of the Arrow’s is now Heir to the Demon, the logical conclusion is that I was Oliver’s apprentice at some point before Ra’s became aware of me. Which, no offense, is kinda an insult.”

“How is it an insult?” Digg asked.

“Well, it took me years of going through Hell to hone my skills. I’m very good at what I do, so the belief that I was only worthy of being the Demon Head after I, supposedly, was trained by Oliver minimizes that. Not to mention, I can and have defeated Oliver in fight.” She said. “But this is good. Talia not knowing the sniper is the same person who killed Ra’s is good. We can use that.”

“The sniper, what else do you know?” Talia demanded as she stormed into Chase’s room. Clearly, he hadn’t told her everything. “What did you leave out?”

“Nothing!”

“Nothing at all? You told me every single detail?” She asked. “How did the sniper find you the first time?”

“I don’t know. She just- we had Queen cornered and she just showed up.”

“She just appeared? She hadn’t seen you walk into the building, you hadn’t spotted her before that? She appears out of nowhere and kills three of my men?”

“Yes.”

“What about as Adrian Chase? Did you have any interesting run-ins with anyone that day? Had you been introduced to someone new?”

“Nope.”

Talia spun on her heel and walked out. She needed to find more about this sniper. Then, something occurred to her. She remembered what the man with Oliver, who wasn’t wearing a disguise, had said when she revealed why she allied with Prometheus. He said she was either misinformed or a fool. She tuned to her second-in-command.

“Bring me Nafi.” She ordered. Nafi was her disciple who she’d sent to Nanda Parbat to be a spy for her. All of the information she had about the League and her father’s death came from him.

“What about him?” The man responded, referring to Chase. “He is useless to us in his condition.”

“He has some value still.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Sam talk, finally, and Talia doesn't react well to not having the most accurate information.

After Felicity explained that, given Talia wanted to kill Oliver and not her, it meant there was plenty of information she didn’t know, everyone in the Arrow Cave started to disperse. Thea needed to go upstairs and be seen working in Verdant, as did Roy. John went home to Lyla and Sara. Oliver could tell Felicity and Sam needed a moment alone, so he wandered into one of the side rooms that had been added to the hideout over time.

Felicity stood in the center of the lair and began taking apart her rifle. She could feel Sam staring at her, even though she didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. Soon enough, she had taken the weapon completely apart, and had nothing else to do, and they still hadn’t talked.

“Are you just gonna stare at me or-?” She snapped.

“I don’t know what I can say.” He said.

“You don’t know what you can say? I don’t even know what that means.” She said as she spun to face him. “You keep insisting we talk, and now that you’re getting the chance to talk, like you wanted, you don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t know what to say that doesn’t start an argument. Sorry, I should’ve been more specific.”

“Start an argument then.” She said. “We- after Nanda Parbat, I thought things were gonna be fine. And then you started acting all weird and you couldn’t listen to the basic requests I made. And it fell apart.”

“The Ana I know-.”

“I’m not her anymore. I thought you understood that. I went with you, I wanted to be with you, because I thought you were the one person who accepted me for who I am, and you don’t. You want 2005 Ana, the one who escaped or 2007 Ana, the one who helped you fake your death. She’s gone.”

“No, she’s-.”

“No, she’s gone. I buried her. She died when I finally killed all of the assholes who trained us. She died when Ra’s al Ghul stabbed me in the chest in Shanghai. She’s been dead for a while.” She said. “In order for Felicity Smoak to survive, Anastasia Rostova needed to die.”

“But you don’t need to be Felicity Smoak anymore. The director is dead, as are all of his followers. There’s no reason you need to pretend anymore.”

Felicity let out an exasperated sigh. “You don’t get it, do you? I helped you fake your death, and you just….went on being the same person you were. I didn’t get to do that. You didn’t have to hide, I did. Felicity Smoak started out as a cover, but she didn’t stay that way. She- I like being her.”

“You like being an IT specialist and the Arrow’s tech support?”

“Yes.” She admitted. “I’d like to believe that Felicity Smoak is who I would’ve been if I’d gotten to choose the kind of person I was going to be. She’s who I should’ve been. Maybe that’s who I am in some other universe or whatever. One where my mother wasn’t kidnapped by a bunch of Soviets.”

“And we’re back to your parents.” He scoffed.

“Yes, they’re my parents. They were the reason that I became what I am. They didn’t save me but they died trying to. I don’t understand why you seem to be so against me burying them or mourning them. Can you please-?”

“Because mine didn’t do that!” He yelled. “My mom didn’t do what yours did. Neither of my parents even tried to protect me. So, why should I give them a second thought?”

“Yes, my mother tried, and failed to save me. And died. in front of me. And then, your mother, and everyone else’s mothers were killed because Petrov didn’t want a repeat of my mom’s attempt.” She said. “I never asked you to act like your parents were perfect. When you said you didn’t feel anything towards them, I dropped the subject. Yet, you get this attitude any time I even mention mine. I had to watch them die and you, you can’t even keep your mouth shut when I bring them up.”

“Ana-.”

“My name is Felicity! It’s not that hard to remember! You just don’t care enough to try.” She said. “Get out.”

“What?”

“Just…go. I can’t- I don’t want to be around you right now. If you wanna help with Talia, I’d appreciate it, but if you can’t be here and work with me on my terms, you can leave. Go figure things out for yourself.”

Sam looked at her for a moment. He didn’t want to fight with her, but he also didn’t want to leave her. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Felicity watched him go, wondering if she’d gone too far with him this time. “You can come out now Oliver.”

“I wasn’t- I didn’t want to interrupt. It was my fault for not leaving when I could tell you needed to talk to him.” He said sheepishly. “And I’d ask how you’re doing, but I don’t think you wanna talk about that.”

“You’re right. I don’t.”

“Can I just-? What you’re feeling isn’t stupid or naïve or whatever someone else might try to convince you. Your parents, being Felicity Smoak, there’s nothing wrong with what you’ve been doing.”

“Thanks.” She said with a small smile. “I do like her, Felicity Smoak. Despite how I left, being her is…. getting to be Felicity Smoak saved me, I think. From becoming something worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trauma does things to people. It changes them. I don’t think I need to tell you that. Computers, learning to hack, that was the one thing in Russia that I actually liked. And I didn’t realize when I escaped that the things I’d experienced were traumatic. They were just….my childhood. Going to MIT, getting to pursue something I was interested in, it stopped me from turning into someone like Malcolm. Or Waller. It gave me something other than pain and my own darkness to focus on.” She said. “And this has gotten way too emotional, so I’m gonna go back to the loft.”

“I’ve told you everything.” Nafi insisted when Talia asked him what he hadn’t told her.

“Then why does an ally of my sister’s seem to contradict that?” She asked.

“It is possible the person is lying.”

“Perhaps, but I will not take that risk.” She said. “You told me this Al Shabh killed my father and vanished.”

“She did.”

“Yet, you were not in Nanda Parbat at the time. My father had sent you on a mission.” She said. “So, how could you know what occurred?”

“When I returned, I was informed by another assassin. One who did witness your father’s death.”

“And you believed him?”

“I saw your father’s body, and Sarab was one of his horsemen, he wouldn’t lie.” Nafi said.

“Tell me about Al Shabh.”

“I never met her and saw her do battle only once.” He said. “She was formidable.”

“More formidable than myself?”

“I-.” He didn’t want to say yes, but he also didn’t want to lie and say no. Al Shabh was much more resourceful in combat than Talia seemed to be. “I cannot say, having only witnessed one fight of hers.”

“Thank you, Nafi.” Talia said. Before he could blink, she drew a knife and used it to slit his throat. “For giving me no useful information.”

He bled out of the floor and she ordered one of her followers to dispose of the body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Thea talk, and Talia continues to plot.

After Felicity’s fight with Sam, and brief conversation with Oliver, she went back to Thea’s loft. As a general rule of hers, and somewhat of a coping mechanism, she would only talk about something real for a limited amount of time. Fake feelings, anything she needed to pretend to care about to sell her cover story, she’d have those “deep” conversations for hours. But real things, how she really felt, what problems were actually getting to her, she didn’t talk about those very much.

Feelings made her vulnerable. They exposed what she did and didn’t care about. Letting anyone know how she really felt was a risk and for most of her life, taking a risk could’ve cost Felicity her life. So, she avoided the conversation completely. Until now, that is. For some reason, when Oliver would ask how she was feeling, what she was thinking, she found herself answering honestly. If she didn’t know better, she’d think there was something wrong with her.

Felicity went to the loft and took a seat on the couch. Maybe something on TV would get here mind off of things. She flipped through channels for an hour, and still felt restless. Some of her energy was due to Talia being town, her endgame not being entirely clear and concern over what the elder daughter of Ra’s might do. The rest she couldn’t explain. Since distracting herself with TV wasn’t working, Felicity decided she needed to burn off the energy.

First, she did some push-ups. Those didn’t help. She then tried some stretches and calisthenics. Those didn’t help either. She rotated between exercises for a while, confused as to why none of it was making her any less restless.

“3AM sit-ups.” Thea commented when she walked into the loft. “Is that a thing we’re doing now?”

“I don’t know. I just- I can’t get rid of all of this restless energy.” She answered. “I’d hoped doing a few hundred push-ups or sit-ups would tire me out, but they haven’t. Sorry I’m really sweaty and gross.” She pulled her t-shirt off and tossed it away from her. She sat there, in her sports bra, debating what to do next. Running at this hour seemed like a recipe for trouble. She then noticed Thea was still standing there. “Did you want to talk to me about something?”

“Yes and no. I was- you’re gonna stop her, right? Talia.”

“We’re going to, yes. I don’t know how yet, and it’s frustrating, but we’re gonna make sure nothing else bad happens.” She said. “It won’t be easy, though. She won’t stop until she’s gotten revenge and I’ve lost enough friends for a lifetime.”

“You think she’s gonna try to kill us?”

“Maybe not everyone, but she wants Oliver dead, minimum, and I’m gonna have to kill her before she gets a shot at doing that, because she’s targeting him for something I did and, while I’m not the most innocent person in the world, I’m not gonna let someone else suffer for my actions.” Felicity said. “Don’t worry about Talia right now. She’s gonna be busy trying to recover from what happened tonight.”

Felicity got up from the floor and walked into the kitchen to get some water. She drained the glass in one sip and was walking back into the living room when the door opened and Oliver came in.

“Speedy, what are- Felicity?” He asked.

“Yeah, you knew I was staying here.” She said. She then noticed he was staring at her, more specifically her stomach, which was littered with scars. “Now you know why I don’t wear bikinis.”

Felicity had a few scars that were clearly from blades, a gunshot wound, some burns and some he couldn’t identify. Two of her knife wounds crisscrossed over one another right about her navel. There was one scar that peaked out just below the fabric of her sports bra that he guessed could’ve been from a sword. None of the scars were ugly or badly healed, but it was easy to see why Felicity wouldn’t want anyone to see them.

He snapped back to reality. “Sorry, I-. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just- I guess I knew, after hearing what you’ve shared about your past, I knew you must’ve had scars but-.”

“But you hadn’t seen them before now.” She said. “This makes us even, though, I’ve seen your scars and now you’ve seen mine.”

“They don’t hurt, do they?” Thea asked.

“Nope. I don’t even dislike them that much, aside from the “No Bikini” thing. They’re proof that I survived all of the crap I went through and that I won. The people who gave me these scars are all dead now.” She said. Neither Oliver or Thea said anything in response. “It’s 3AM, I’ve been awake for almost 24 straight hours, I’m gonna go to bed now. Goodnight, or morning. Whatever.” She walked towards the guestroom and heard a voice call out to her.

“Wait.” Oliver had followed after her. “I-.” He was at a loss of what to say. Felicity clearly wanted some alone time. He knew offering her someone to talk to wouldn’t help. Telling her that her scars didn’t matter to him would only anger her, since it made her experiences about him, which was seven kinds of messed up. Instead, he cleared his throat and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “You’re remarkable, Felicity. Don’t forget that.”

She smiled at that. “How could I forget?” She went into the guestroom and went to sleep.

“Who are Susana and Jason and why does they keep texting you?” Talia asked Chase as she walked into his room. His phone had been buzzing at random intervals ever since she arrived.

“They work with me in the district attorney’s office. Since I haven’t exactly been into the office, they’re probably a little pissed at me.” He held his hand out. “Let me see.”

“There’s no need for you to strain yourself. It seems they’re frustrated with someone called Laurel. Apparently, they don’t appreciate her tactics or overall demeanor.” She said, having read the messages. “Something I should know?”

“No. She’s a pushy, mediocre lawyer that’s only still employed because we can’t fire her without risking a wrongful termination lawsuit. She’s a nuisance, nothing more.”

“That’s all?”

“Other than the fact that she’s crazy, yes. She got out of the psych ward a month before they made me the DA.” He said. “She’s not useful to our plans in any way.”

“I’ll make that evaluation for myself, I think. Given how useless much of the information you’ve already provided is.” She said. “Should something….unfortunate happen, such as your identity as Prometheus being exposed, who would become the district attorney?”

“Susana most likely.” He said.

“Good to know.” Talia said before walking out of the room. She told her second-in-command that she’d take care of Adrian Chase when she returned. She ordered him not to allow anyone else into the room in the meantime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia tries to press someone for information, Felicity explains her strange attitude towards what's happening and Chase is out of time.

Talia waited until sunrise before heading out of the hideout she and her followers were in. Perhaps Chase was right and Laurel wasn’t useful to their plans. He could also have been wrong, and based on how badly things were going so far, she wasn’t going to take his word for it.

Oliver had mentioned someone named Laurel during the time she trained him in Moscow. She assumed this Laurel was the same Laurel he spoke of. If he still cared about her, she’d be a valuable hostage if the need arose. She went to the district attorney’s office and asked around until she was shown to Laurel Lance’s office.

“Can I help you?” The lawyer asked.

“Perhaps. My name is Talia Nassar.” She said, giving one of her aliases. “I’d like to talk to you about Oliver Queen.”

“Go to City Hall and you can talk to him yourself. It’s three blocks that way.”

“I’m aware. I have no interest in speaking to him, I want to talk to you about him.” She said. “I was under the impression you two were close?”

“You a reporter or something?”

“Or something.” Talia answered. They had been talking for less than two minutes and she already wanted to strike Laurel. “So, you and Oliver?”

“Ollie and I aren’t exactly close anymore. Not sense _she_ came into the picture.”

“She? Who is the “she” you refer to?” If there was someone else in Oliver’s life Talia could target, she’d prefer to know as soon as possible. Why target Laurel if someone closer would be more devastating?

“Felicity Smoak. She used to be his assistant and now- I don’t know what she is. She ruined my life, you know. She got me fired, attacked me and then left. Made everyone think I was crazy and then left town. And now, suddenly she’s back! She’s back and waltzing around acting like she never left or that anyone needs her here. She should’ve just stayed gone. Just like Sara.”

“This….Felicity Smoak left Starling City when?”

“Like a year and a half ago.”

Around the time Ra’s al Ghul selected his new heir. The mysterious Al Shabh. Did Felicity Smoak possibly now something about the woman who killed her father? Did she have a connection to the killer? “And then she came back?”

“Yeah, like three weeks ago. Acting like she owned the place.” Laurel said. “And she’s hiding something. I know she is. I don’t know what it is, yet, but I’m gonna figure it out and when I do, she’s gonna pay. I’m gonna make her pay.”

“I’m sure you will.” Talia said dismissively. As Chase warned, Laurel was clearly unwell and she didn’t put much stock in here words. The timeline didn’t quite match up. Felicity left town right before Ra’s selected a new heir, but returned several months after his death. Maybe the timing was a coincidence. “Thank you for your assistance.”

Talia left Laurel’s office and started looking into Felicity Smoak. There wasn’t much to find about her online, which was surprising for an American. She was able to find a trail showing that she’d been working in London for the last year. She found a few pictures of her, and thought she looked more like a librarian or school teacher than a fighter. Felicity might not have been Ra’s al Ghul’s killer, but she was someone important to Oliver and that made her someone worth Talia investigating.

Unbeknownst to Talia, of course, the “company” Felicity had been working for was fake and one of the ways the blonde devised to avoid raising suspicion when she disappeared for months at a time. She’d also set up alerts to know when someone searched for information about any of her aliases.

“Well, that’s annoying.” Felicity said, putting her phone down.

“What is?” Thea asked.

“Talia, or one of her lackeys, just Googled me. I mean, she’s not gonna find anything that’s useful or, you know, real on the internet, but I’d prefer if she didn’t know my name at all.” She explained. “There’s an upside to no one knowing you exist.”

“You think she’s gonna come after you?” Oliver asked, putting his coffee mug down and frowning.

“She’s definitely gonna try, and I wish her luck.” She shrugged. “This might actually be fun.”

“Fun?”

“Okay, that might’ve been the wrong word, but I’ll at least complete the set. I beat Nyssa, I beat Ra’s, if I beat her, then I’m three for three with the al Ghul family.” She said. “Look, I’m mad this is happening. I’m mad Chase is a person who exists. I’m pissed Talia swore vengeance because I killed her father. I’m mad any of this is going on, but I need to focus so I don’t snap. If thinking “I can’t wait to kick Talia’s ass” keeps me from spiraling, I’m gonna keep saying how much I wanna stomp her into the ground.”

“Fair enough.” Oliver said. “I gotta head to work. Another meeting with the DA’s office, yay.”

“Have they not noticed Chase is MIA, yet?” Thea asked. “Because the news-.” Chase hadn’t been seen in days. Team Arrow knew where he was, but it was a little surprising that he hadn’t been reported missing, and the DA’s office hadn’t made a statement saying anything about his disappearance.

“Apparently not.”

“I’ve got a feeling he’s gonna be found dead pretty soon.” Felicity said. “Because he can’t fight with a broken femur, and that makes him useless to Talia now.”

“You think she’d kill him? He’s her student.”

“So were you. The Director who trained me, Ra’s, Talia, they’re all the same. Their students, followers, whatever they wanna call them, are disposable to them. Chase was useful, he was able to get close to Oliver, keep an eye on him, but now he’s exposed and injured and he’s a liability, not an asset.”

Oliver wasn’t sure how he felt about Felicity’s point. He could see that her argument made sense, and he wasn’t upset about Chase no longer running around as Prometheus, but at the same time, he didn’t want the man to die. With nothing he could say, Oliver left for work.

“Let me guess.” Adrian said as Talia walked into his room. “You’re here to kill me.”

“What makes you believe that?”

“I’m not stupid. Oliver probably knows who I am by now. My cover as the DA is blown. And I can’t exactly go out and wage war against him in this condition.” He said. “I’m useless, or so you think, so you’re going to kill me.”

“Let’s say I was planning to kill you. Now would be the time to try and convince me not to.”

“I’m not gonna beg for my life.”

“I did not say you should beg. I merely pointed out that if you had any more valuable information, information you neglected to share, now would be a good time to share it.”

“I guess I made a mistake telling you everything, then.” He said.

“Yes, it seems that you did.” Talia said before taking out a knife and throwing it at Chase. It didn’t hit him directly in the heart, but he’d bleed out within the next minute anyway.

“Oh wait…. I just remembered.” He said. “I never told you about….”

“Told me about what?”

“Oliver’s-.” Chase’s head lolled to the side as he died. Whatever secret he was going to share died with him.

Talia ordered one of her followers to dispose of the body. She then ordered a few others to retrace every movement Chase had made since moving to town. She wanted to know what the secret he “forgot” to share with her was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity discuss the past, and she learns something that Talia might use to her advantage.

Oliver’s day at City Hall was surprisingly quiet and he was hoping it stayed that way. He only had one meeting today, one he’d already gone to, and it looked like the only other things he needed to do were read through some proposals for new initiatives and complete some paperwork. As much as he liked being the mayor, he wasn’t a fan of paperwork in any way, shape or form.

“Wow, never thought I’d see this.” Felicity said from the doorway.

“See what?”

“You actually working. Filling out paperwork.” She said. “You do remember I used to be your Executive Assistant, right? It wasn’t even that long ago. I had to practically threaten you in order to make you do anything work-related.”

“Yeah, I- back then, I wasn’t really ready to be a CEO, or have any kind of real job.” He said.

While all of that was true, Oliver was too busy thinking about that time in his life. Had it really only been a few years ago? He couldn’t believe that two and a half years ago, things had been so different. He hadn’t known anything about Felicity, anything real that is, and yet was convinced he knew everything there was to know already. How foolish he was.

“Felt like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?” She asked. “Everything was different, easier, then.”

“There was a madman with enhanced strength and reflexes trying to make me regret ever being born.”

“Yeah, but we also weren’t dealing with the League, or Talia’s weird cult, or a psychotic DA. I was still running from my own past. Thea was blissfully ignorant of what you were really up to.” She said. “Now, I’m not saying I regret everything that’s happened since then, I did finally get closure on a few things, but I wouldn’t turn down the chance to go back to that time and stay there.”

“Really?”

“Well, if I knew my secrets were going to be exposed, I would’ve just sat down and told you guys everything. I feel like things might’ve gone better if I just told as opposed to Waller and the Russians coming after me, Sam showing up, and me being forced to tell you what my childhood was really like.” She said. “Only thing I wouldn’t change somewhat is saving Sara.”

“What do you mean, saving Sara?”

“Wait, you don’t know. Thea didn’t tell you.” She said with a sigh. “That makes sense. Nyssa came to town, looking for Sara, remember? She was looking for her because Sara hadn’t reported in. She didn’t report in because, after she ran into you at Rocket’s Arena, Thea shot her with three arrows.”

“Thea shot Sara? Why would-?”

“Some weird, convoluted plan of Malcolm’s. He’s dead, so who cares what that plan was. As I was saying, I don’t know exactly what happened, but during the confrontation, Thea snapped out of her fugue state and Sara came to me for help. I don’t know what would’ve happened if she didn’t come to me. Things might’ve turned out a lot worse.”

“That’s why Thea was with you, isn’t it? When you came to confront Sam, that’s why she was with you.”

“No, she was hiding out from Malcolm, but I hadn’t had a chance to explain that he was dead and not a problem anymore.” She said. “Like I said, things were a lot easier before any of that was going on.”

“Yeah, they were.” He agreed.

They sat there in silence, thinking about the past. After a few minutes, Felicity spoke again. “What haven’t you told me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not delusional. I know that I haven’t been here in months, meaning there are things I might not know, things I’m not aware of.” She said. “Talia’s- she wants revenge, she’s after you. She’s not gonna stop until she gets revenge or we stop her. I don’t think there’s a line she won’t cross or move she won’t make, in order to make you pay for supposedly being responsible for Ra’s death. I can’t solve an equation without all of the variables, so if there’s something, anything, that happened since I left after dealing with Waller, that I need to know about, now would be a good time to tell me.”

“There isn’t.”

“There’s nothing? Nothing at all? Regardless of how hard it might be to find out? Of how few people know?” She pressed. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, she just needed to be absolutely sure. “Because Talia, like Ra’s, has ways to find out things no one else should know and I really don’t wanna be blindsided.”

“Well, when I went to Central City to help Barry, I found out I have a son, named William, but not even Thea knows about him.” He said. “Before the Gambit, his mother told me she’d had a miscarriage, so I thought- there’s no way Talia could learn about him.”

“We don’t have any kind of guarantee, and I’d rather be safe than sorry.” She said. “Where is he located? And what security measures do you have in place?”

“He lives in Central City and I- Barry checks on them every so often but- he doesn’t even know that I’m his father. Samantha- that’s how she wanted it.”

“That’s…..incredibly stupid from a tactical perspective. At least, it is when we’re talking about the League of Assassins or any offshoot of them. Tell Barry he needs to check on them. Now. I’ve gotta get to the foundry and find a better way to keep them safe.” She moved towards the door. “Oh, and congrats I guess? Should I say that? It feels weird to say.”

“Wait, how- why do you think she’s gonna go after them?” He asked.

“Because it sounds like something I’d do. Well, I’d consider it at least, if I hated the person enough.” She said before walking out.

Talia glared at the assassin in front of her. She’d given orders for her followers to find out what exactly Chase had uncovered about Oliver, but they were failing her, yet again. It seemed that no one knew exactly what Chase’s plan was and they kept running into walls.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” She asked.

“He was very…tight-lipped about any information he learned. It was almost as if he didn’t trust us with all of the information. If he shared it with anyone, they’re dead now.”

“He kept no notes? Made no passing comments? Nothing? You spent weeks working and planning this crusade with him, and you are unable to provide any insight?”

“He never said anything concrete, just made references to showing Oliver Queen is true self and forcing him to make a choice.”

“And what would that choice be, exactly?”

“Who he would save, although he didn’t elaborate on who he’d have to pick between.” The man answered.

“I suggest you find out, then.” She warned.

That night, Adrian Chase’s body was disposed of by Talia and her followers. Given his extensive injuries, they couldn’t just dump the body with prompting an investigation. It couldn’t be passed off as a mugging gone wrong. Chase’s wife reported him missing, and in a few weeks, he’d be declared dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity tries to plan, and Talia makes a discovery

It didn’t take Oliver long to get ahold of Barry. Getting in touch with the speedster was easy, asking him to look in on Samantha and William, without letting them know what was going on, or telling Barry the full story was another matter entirely.

“Is everything okay?” The Flash asked. “Because its just- your wording and your tone kinda make it seem like something’s very wrong or about to go super wrong. Is there something I should know?”

“I can’t explain right now. Just- someone wants revenge on me and I’ve got reason to believe that they might come after Samantha and William in order to get back at me. I need you to keep an eye on them until I come up with a better plan.”

“Does Samantha- I thought no one else knew about your son? You threatened to shoot me with arrows if I even thought about telling anyone.”

“No one should know, it’s a pretty well-kept secret, but I can’t be sure. I don’t know that there’s no evidence linking me to them and I’m not willing to take that risk. Not when I’m dealing with the threat I’m facing.”

“Do you need a hand? Because I’m newer at this but-.”

“For right now, all I need is for you to keep an eye on them until we come up with a better plan.” He said, sounding exhausted.

Talia was hellbent on revenge. He needed to make sure no one got hurt, and right now, the most vulnerable person, the best person to target, was in a city six hundred miles away and had no idea he was in danger. He had no idea how to stop Talia or how to keep the Claytons safe. He tried, and failed, to focus on work for a little while longer before calling it a day. He told his assistant that he felt like he was coming down with something and needed to go home.

The second Felicity left City Hall she had the feeling she was being watched. With all her training, skills and experience, looking over her shoulder was second nature to her. It had been years since anyone managed to sneak up on her. She wanted to keep that streak going for as long as possible. Instead of going directly to Verdant to get to the foundry, she started walking in the opposite direction. She walked into Starling’s shopping mall, still feeling eyes on her.

Talia had spotted Felicity leaving City Hall on a fluke. She’d gone there to spy on Oliver, but a chance to possibly speak with, or even abduct, his friend wasn’t something she could pass up. Especially if Laurel Lance wasn’t crazy and the blonde computer scientist was more than just a friend to Oliver. She followed the blonde to the mall, careful to remain far enough back to avoid suspicion.

When Felicity was young and being taught how to be a spy-slash-assassin, one of her teachers taught her a very important lesson. There were two ways to follow someone: either they don’t see you following them or all they see is you following them. Talia, having been trained by the League, went for the first tactic. Felicity could tell she was trying not to be seen, to blend into the background. Unfortunately for her, Felicity was just at skilled at losing a tail as she was at spotting one.

She led Talia towards one of the bigger stores in the mall. Being close to the holidays, the store was packed with shoppers and families. She walked into the store and moved towards a display. Talia was a few yards behind her and didn’t have a clear view of her, only spotting the back of her head. A salesperson came over to talk to Felicity, offering to let her get a closer look to the make-up product. She then “accidentally” dropped the item when the associate tried to hand it to her. When the employee turned her back to pick up the dropped eyeliner pencil, Felicity reached over the counter and hit the hidden alarm.

The alarms started blaring and the shoppers, believing there was a huge, imminent threat nearby, began running around. In the confusion, Felicity exited the store through a side entrance while Talia had been herded by the crowd further into the mall. By the time things calmed down, Felicity was long gone, and Talia was frustrated. The badly-timed false alarm ruined her chance to confront the blonde.

“Where have you been?” Oliver asked when Felicity finally reached his hideout. He’d been expecting her to already be at the foundry when he got there and was a little startled when she wasn’t.

“The mall, I needed to lose a tail.” She said. “Talia’s probably still scouring the halls for me.”

“Talia was tailing you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think it was planned. Based on how she tailed me, the fact none of her followers seemed to be there, I think she saw me and decided, in that moment, to follow me. She didn’t seem to have much of a plan and didn’t know where she was going other than wherever I was headed.” She said. “Although, I don’t know why since as far as anyone knows I’m just your ex-assistant who left town for a job in London last year and just moved back.”

“A job in London?”

“I like having some cover in place when I disappear in case I return to the city I vanished from.” She said. “The game of cat-and-mouse gave me some time to think though. About how to help Samantha and William. I’ve got an idea, but Barry might object.”

“Why?”

“Because it involves him breaking into their house, planting bugs and putting trackers on both of them.” She said. “That way, if someone tries to break in, if they’re taken somewhere against their will, we’ll know.”

“You wanna put them under surveillance?”

“I don’t hear you offering up a better idea.” She said. “Call him and tell him I’ll be at Star Labs in four hours.”

“You’re going to Central City?”

“Well, I haven’t seen Barry since his coma, and visiting a friend gives me an excuse to see how vulnerable Samantha and William are right now.”

“I could just tell her the truth, let her know they’re in danger.”

“People don’t react well to being told that. It’ll freak her out, she’ll run and then, we won’t know where they are and if Talia finds them, we won’t know until its too late.” She said. “I’ll be back in a few days.”

Felicity packed a small bag, bringing only a few weapons, and headed to the train station. She took the express to Central City, telling Oliver that she’d keep him updated on what she found. She knew Sam and Thea would keep her up-to-date on things in Starling in case she needed to come back. It took her about ten minutes to convince Barry to go along with her plan, but she was able to make him see that breaking the law, in this case, could save the boy and his mother, and that meant it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to do. After a day in Central City, she went home and spent another day in the loft, trying to figure out what Talia’s plan might be.

Talia had been in a terrible mood since Felicity escaped her at the mall. In fact, she’d been in a rotten mood since she learned Chase had kept something from her. She was frustrated and wanted to take it out on someone. After two days of no sign of Felicity and no progress on defeating Oliver, she decided to pay Laurel another visit.

She knocked on Laurel’s office door and asked the attorney if she’d give Oliver Queen a message. Looking for any excuse to talk to Oliver, Laurel agreed. Talia smiled before punching Laurel in the face, before hitting her in the stomach. When she doubled over, Talia hit her in the abdomen again, hard enough to bruise, if not crack, one of her ribs.

“Tell Oliver I will make him pay for what he’s done.” She warned before walking out of the room.

Once Laurel recovered from the attack, she headed straight for the foundry to tell Oliver what happened. Talia, meanwhile, returned to her hideout.

“I have news.” One of her followers said. “I believe I’ve found what Adrian Chase uncovered before his death.”

“Which would be what?”

“A discrepancy in the Queen family’s finances. A check for $1 million was written, but never cashed. It was written to a woman named Samantha Clayton. Ms. Clayton had a child roughly six months before Oliver Queen was believed to have drowned aboard his family’s yacht.”

“So, Oliver Queen has a child.”

“It would appear so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel comes running to Oliver for help, Nyssa shares some information with Felicity and Felicity rushes to save someone before its too late.

Once Laurel was sure that Talia was gone, after the woman attacked her, she rushed out of her office and headed to Verdant. The attorney had no idea what the woman wanted or why she’d attacked her, but she needed to warn Ollie. Not only did he need to be warned, but she was clearly in danger and he was the only person who could help her.

She reached Verdant and tried to key into the foundry, but couldn’t. Oliver changed the passcode when they went on a break and he hadn’t given her the new one, even thought she’d asked him more than once. Laurel started banging on the door, attracting the bar staff’s attention.

“Laurel? What are- what happened to you?” Roy asked, seeing her.

“I need to talk to Ollie now. Can you remind me what the passcode is?” She asked, trying to sound calm. She was freaked out by what Talia did, but this could work out in her favor. Oliver would protect her, and in doing so, he’d realize he missed her and they’d get back together. In order to talk to Ollie, Roy would have to give her the passcode to the lair. Once she had access to the foundry again, it would be just like old times before Felicity ruined everything.

“Umm…I can’t remember the numbers.” Roy lied. “it’s more of a muscle-memory thing. I’ll type it in for you.”

The only reason Roy was even willing to let Laurel into the foundry was because she’d clearly been attacked and he didn’t want to be a jerk. He walked over to the keypad and started typing in the code, making sure to block Laurel’s view of the buttons. The door unlocked and he pushed it open. Slightly agitated at not learning that code, Laurel muttered a “thank you” and made her way downstairs with him following after her.

Laurel reached the bottom of the stairs and froze. “What is she doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Felicity asked, sounding a lot nicer. “And what happened to you?”

“Laurel?” Oliver said.

“This woman, she came to my office a few days ago. She knew I knew you. Today, she asked me to give you a message. I said yes, and she did this to me. She said she was going to make you suffer for what you did.” Laurel answered, turning on the tears as she gestured to her face. She was in pain, but she also remembered that if she cried, Oliver was more likely to give her what she wanted. “Why would she do that?”

“The woman, what did she look like?” He asked.

“Wait, let me guess.” Felicity cut in. “A few inches taller than me, black hair, brown eyes with a slight accent.”

“Talia.” Sam said.

“Yup.” Felicity then turned to Laurel. “What did you tell her?”

“I didn’t-.”

“I don’t mean today, but you said she came to you a few days ago. What did you tell her?” She repeated.

“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Laurel scoffed before turning to Oliver. “You need to help me. She’s gonna- what if she comes back?”

“If the woman who attacked you is who we think-.” Oliver started to say.

“You shouldn’t be anywhere near him.” Felicity and Sam both said in unison.

“I need him to protect me.”

“Being around Oliver will put you in even more danger.” Sam said. “This woman wants to hurt Oliver, and if you stay near him, you’ll be lucky if a broken nose is all that you get. Go home, lock your doors and call your sister. Sara can keep you safe until this all blows over.”

Surprisingly, Sam’s suggestion worked and Laurel left. She told Oliver to call her when the situation was all over, but at least the group didn’t have to deal with her as a liability for any longer. She spent her drive home on the phone with her father, simply so that if she was attacked again, someone else would hear it.

“That was- I thought getting her to leave would be harder.” Roy said once Laurel was gone.

“Sam’s really good at talking crazy people into seeing reason.” Felicity said. “But we might have another problem.”

“What now?” Digg and Thea had just walked in and the former soldier asked the question.

“Laurel was just here after Talia attacked her. She might’ve been followed.” She explained. “Maybe Talia attacked her solely to push her into running to Oliver so that her followers could figure out where his base is.”

“You think she didn’t already know?” Oliver asked.

“I think if she knew, or if Chase knew, they would’ve already tried to break in here. And since I put security safeguards in place that the Pentagon is jealous of, I know they haven’t been here.”

“She’s been quiet. I don’t like it.” He said.

“Me neither.” The blonde said as she walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Thea asked.

“We don’t know what she’s been up to, but maybe Nyssa can give us a better idea.” She explained. “She is her sister, and her nemesis after all.”

“I miss having one of those.” Sam remarked. “Let’s go.”

“Nope. Not going anywhere with you.” She said, shutting him down. “I work better solo anyways.”

Felicity left the foundry and made her way to the League’s hideout. Sara and Nyssa seemed to be the only ones not surprised that she knew the location. She told them about her near-encounter with Talia and asked if they had any new information to share.

“Adrian Chase is dead.” Nyssa said. “One of our scouts saw his body being put into a stolen car.”

“Not surprising. He failed and was a liability. It would be a miracle if he managed to walk again.” Felicity responded. “I don’t suppose that scout found Talia’s hideout.”

“No, he did not.” She answered. “Although one of my men did report seeing a few of hers boarding a train only an hour ago.”

“Deserting maybe?”

“I doubt it. Talia’s students have the same dedication to her that the League of Assassins members have to myself and my father before me.” She said. “Wherever they are headed, it is on her orders.”

“Any idea which train they got on?” Sara asked.

“It appeared to be headed for Central City.” Nyssa answered.

Felicity jumped to her feet. There was only one reason Talia would send anyone to Central City. She stormed out of the room and called Barry, demanding that he drop whatever he was doing to come to Starling City. She returned to the foundry and started gathering her weapons.

“Uh, Rambo? Wanna explain where you’re going?” Roy asked.

“Central City.” She answered, loading one of her handguns. She looked up at Oliver. “Talia sent a few of her minions there, and I don’t think its because they want the Flash’s autograph.”

“Call-.”

“I already did. He should be here right about….now.” She said as Barry ran into the foundry. The speedster had barely made it to a stop when she started giving him orders. “I need you to take me and Oliver to Central City, now.”

“You’re both leaving? What about Talia?” Thea asked.

“Talia’s coming after William. The League can keep her at bay here, but we need to make sure nothing happens to that kid, or his mom, in the meantime.”

“Who’s William?” Sam asked.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not letting her kidnap or hurt a kid because she’s pissed I stabbed her father.” Felicity said.

“You stabbed someone?” Barry asked.

“There’s a lot I left out when I told you where I’d been.” She said. “Oliver, grab your bow and let’s go.”

Oliver grabbed his bow, and all of his arrows, and allowed Barry to speed him over to Central City. The archer was glad the city council was in recess at the moment, since people were less likely to notice his absence. Once at Star Labs, Felicity dragged him to a hideout near Samantha’s condo.

“So, what now?” He asked as they watched the house.

“Now, we wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Due to Thanksgiving/personal stuff, there probably won't be an update next week.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver try to keep William and Samantha safe, which means observation may not be enough.

“Are we just going to sit here until something happens?” Oliver asked Felicity. The two of them had been sitting in an unoccupied house across the street from Samantha’s condo for about two hours. So far, the only thing Felicity had done was watch the house through her binoculars.

“Until sunrise, yes.” She answered. “Talia might be crazy and thirsty for revenge, but she’s not stupid. She knows she can’t abduct someone in broad daylight without attracting attention.”

“I’ve only been on one stakeout in my life.” Oliver told her. “And it lasted maybe a few hours. How are we supposed to not lose our minds from sheer boredom?”

“The people who trained me gave us this lame suggestion about coming up with a story to tell about the target. If you’re on a stakeout, you’re watching someone for a while, you start to learn their habits and things about them. They stopped telling us that after one of the girls didn’t want to kill her mark because, in her mind, he didn’t deserve to die, he just made the wrong choice. He wasn’t a target anymore, he was a person. So, now I tell myself the same story about everyone I watch like this.”

“What’s the story?”

“If Talia or any of her “students” come anywhere near this house, I’m gonna kill them.” She said bluntly. “Because if I’m going to spend days, or even a week, sitting in this dump, they must be bad and therefore they need to die.”

“It doesn’t have to come to that.” Oliver said. “If the men she sent get caught, then she might-.”

“Talia’s students, they aren’t like Slade’s army, or Merlyn, or the Triad. They’re fanatics.” Felicity said. “They have a cause they’re willing to die for, and if one fails and gets arrested, or dies, another’s gonna be standing right behind them to pick up where they left off.” She sighed. She was exhausted on several levels. “The only way to keep William safe is to kill anyone who tries and somehow get him and his mother somewhere Talia can’t find them.”

“Thank you.” He said. “I know this isn’t- you didn’t have to do this.”

“Talia’s after you because of me. This is my mess. Cleaning it up is the least I can do.” She bent down to look through the scope of her rifle.

“Still, I owe you, you could’ve just told me Talia was coming after William and left. I mean- I wasn’t the best teammate or friend to you for the last few years. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to still be angry.”

“I guess I’m just forgiving like that.”

“I shot you in the shoulder with a tranq arrow.” He reminded her.

“And I shot Sam in the chest with a bullet. I wasn’t entirely sure he was wearing a vest. He forgave me.” She shrugged.

“You shot him?”

“During my years on the run, before I faked my death and became Felicity Smoak, the assholes after me decided that maybe they had a better chance of finding me if they sent the only person who grew up with me to “bring me home”. I lured Sam, and the other operative, into this dingy warehouse. As soon as they entered, I shot them both. The other guy in the head and Sam in the chest. That’s how he was able to fake his death.” She explained. “My point is that I spent a long time hating people and wanting revenge for what they’ve done. Along the way, I figured out who I was and wasn’t going to forgive. You made the cut. And I wasn’t angry you shot me, after the initial shock wore off, I was angry you were pulling the “I can’t let you do this” card. It’s my life, you don’t get a say.”

“I really thought I was-.” He started to explain.

Felicity held up a hand. “We’ve got movement near one of the windows. Go check it out.”

He stood and grabbed his bow. “What about you?”

“Looks like there’s only one. I’ll cover you.” She said.

Oliver crept out of the house and snuck towards Samantha’s place. He stayed low, trying to stay out of sight. Felicity had spotted one figure, but there was always a chance the man wasn’t alone. He rounded the side of the house and found a figure dressed in black slowly trying to pry the window open. He fired an arrow at the figure, but the man caught it.

“Did you truly expect to sneak up on me?”

“It was worth a shot.” Oliver said before firing another.

Abandoning the window, the assassin moved towards Oliver. Once Oliver was incapacitated, he could return his attention to breaking into the house and kidnapping the two residents. The assassin fought him hand-to-hand, not wanting to alert William or Samantha of his presence. He and Oliver were pretty evenly matched and it looked like this was going to be a long battle.

“Retreat, Oliver.” Felicity said over the comms.

“What? I can’t- if I go, he’s going to-.”

“He isn’t alone. You need to cover the front door.” She told him. “If we want to keep William and Samantha safe, I need you to trust me.”

“Okay.” He said before shoving the assassin as hard as he could to give himself an escape and race towards the front door.

At least four more men were making their way towards the house. Oliver stationed himself on the bottom step of the porch. Anyone who wanted to get into the house would need to go through him. He heard a thus in the distance, no doubt Felicity “handling” the assassin near the window. As the others approached, a few more fell to the ground. None of them seemed to be trying to go around the back of the house, to his surprise. When the first assassin was close enough to attack him, he counted four more nearby.

“Okay. My plan of just shooting whoever came near the building isn’t gonna work, and since I don’t wanna accidentally shoot you, time for Plan B.” Felicity said. She stood up from her crouch, left her sniper rifle where it was and grabbed her handguns. “Hold them off until I get there.”

“What?” He asked in confusion.

“I’m coming out there.” She said. “Hold them at bay until I can get into position.”

Oliver turned his attention back to the person he was fighting and just hoped she had a better plan than trying to take all of the attackers out before they could break in or Samantha noticed something. He managed to hit the first with a tranq arrow and had a few seconds to recover before the next one struck. This one had a sword and he barely avoided getting stabbed before the man suddenly fell to the ground. Felicity had made it across the street and shot the man while he was focused on Oliver.

“Guns are a coward’s weapon.” One of the assassins said.

“Oh, I’m not scared to fight you.” She said. “You’re just not worth my time.”

Oliver started fighting the next to last assassin Talia had sent and lost track of what Felicity was doing. She was a skilled fighter and he knew she could take care of herself. He managed to knock out his opponent right before Felicity and her opponent went crashing through Samantha’s front door.

“What the hell-?” Samantha shouted, jumping up from the couch and putting herself between Felicity, the assassin and William. “Who are-?”

The assassin turned to say something to Samantha and Felicity was able to put him in a chokehold. She then looked at Samantha. “Gimme just a sec.”

“I will not be the last. Others will come.” The assassin threatened.

She rolled her eyes and looked at Samantha and William. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Close your eyes!” She insisted. She waited for Samantha and William to both have their eyes closed before she broke the assassin’s neck. She then sighed and stood up. “Little help here, Arrow.”

Oliver helped her drag the body out of the house. When he came back inside, a frightened Samantha was trying to form the words to ask who they were and why they were here.

“You two need to pack a bag.” Felicity said. “You aren’t safe here.”

“Why-? Who were-? How are we not safe?” Samantha asked.

Felicity turned to Oliver. “I’m willing to help a lot, but I’m not doing this for you. And we don’t have a lot of time.”

Sighing, Oliver handed Felicity his bow and pulled his hood back so that they could see his face. “Because of me. Someone who wants revenge on me found out about I’m William’s father.”

“You’re my dad?” William asked, speaking for the first time. “My dad is the Green Arrow?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver manages to get William and Samantha to safety, while Felicity decides to upset the status quo.

“You two need to pack a bag.” Felicity said. “You aren’t safe here.”

“Why-? Who were-? How are we not safe?” Samantha asked.

Felicity turned to Oliver. “I’m willing to help a lot, but I’m not doing this for you. And we don’t have a lot of time.”

Sighing, Oliver handed Felicity his bow and pulled his hood back so that they could see his face. “Because of me. Someone who wants revenge on me found out about I’m William’s father.”

“You’re my dad?” William asked, speaking for the first time. “My dad is the Green Arrow?”

The three adults stared at one another, expecting the others to say something. Felicity didn’t know Samantha or William, so she didn’t want to respond, while Oliver and Samantha both weren’t sure how to respond. After an uncomfortably long silence, Felicity finally spoke.

“Yes, he is.” She said. “You and your mom need to pack enough clothes and essentials for a few days.”

“I’m not leaving my home because someone’s after Oliver.” Samantha said. “Whatever is happening-.”

Felicity bent down to William’s level so that she could look him in the eyes. “Why don’t you start packing while we talk to your mom? It won’t take long.” The boy gave the adults an uncertain look before going into his bedroom. “I know you don’t want to leave, but you need to.”

“I don’t see why-.”

“Do you want to die? Do you want William to get hurt or die?” She cut Samantha off. “Because if you stay here, that’s exactly what’s gonna happen.”

Oliver decided to step in. “Felicity, maybe-.”

“You know what Talia and her students are like, you know what they’re capable of. And when these six don’t return, she’s gonna send more. They’re not gonna care that he’s a kid or that you and Samantha have basically no relationship.” She said. “No one knew about either of them, but they still found this place. They can’t stay here.”

“It’s only temporary.” Oliver promised Samantha. He didn’t like that this was the only option, but he could see Felicity’s point. “Just until we deal with the current threat.”

“How long is that gonna take? I have work, I have a life and-.”

“Call work, say you have an emergency and need to take time off. Don’t tell anyone where you need to go. And it’ll take as long as it needs to.” Felicity said. “Your job isn’t more important than your lives.”

Seeing that she couldn’t talk Oliver or Felicity out of this decision, Samantha walked off to pack a few bags. Within the hour, everyone was in the car and Felicity started driving towards Starling City. About an hour and a half into the drive, William fell asleep and the adults finally got a chance to talk.

“Why is this happening? What did you do?” Samantha asked Oliver. “If my life is getting turned upside down, I think I deserve to know why.”

“I didn’t do anything. The person who sent those men to your house, the one who wants revenge on me, she blames me for something I didn’t do.”

“Which would be?”

“She thinks I killed her father and conspired with her sister to cheat her out of her birthright.” He said. By now, most of Team Arrow knew that Talia’s anger was just because of Ra’s dying, but also because Nyssa became the Demon Head after he died, while she believed she deserved the title.

“Why haven’t you just told her that?”

“I tried, she doesn’t believe me.” He answered. “Try and get some sleep. Once we get to the city, we’ll need to get both of you settled in the safehouse.” Thankfully for everyone involved, the safest building in the city was a house Felicity had bought in case her townhouse was ever compromised and the team was able to get it cleaned up while Oliver and Felicity were in Central City. “Someone owed me a favor.”

“So, until you stop this woman, Will and I are just supposed to stay cooped up in a safehouse? I can’t- that’s not a life.”

“If everything goes well, you two could go home in a week or two.” Felicity said. “We just wanna be absolutely sure you’re safe before we send you home.”

“When this is over, you and I need to talk, Oliver.”

“Agreed.”

They reached Starling a few hours before dawn and started moving Samantha and William’s stuff into the hideout. There was a top-of-the-line security system, one that would still run if the power went out or there was a natural disaster, installed and, at Felicity’s insistence, Digg convinced Lyla to add a few more security features.

Once the Claytons were settled, Oliver went back to the loft to get some rest and Felicity went to the foundry. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Yes, but I can, and have, gone longer without sleep. Plus, someone needs to be here at all times in case something happens.” She said. “I’ll take the first shift.”

“You’re not in Russia anymore, you know.”

“I know, but this is kinda my worst nightmare. Because of my actions, two innocent people, one of whom is a 10-year-old boy, could die. I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.” She admitted. “I’ll be fine.”

“What happens after we prevail?” Talia’s second-in-command asked her. “Once Oliver Queen has lost everything and everyone he loves, what will our next move be?”

“After we rid this world of Oliver Queen, my sister will be next.” She said. “If any child of Ra’s al Ghul deserves the title of the Demon Head, it is myself. Nyssa is weak, and our father was ashamed of her. She has not earned the right to lead the League of Assassins.”

“What of Al Shabh?”

“Al Shabh is dead.” She spat out. “The League would have been bound by honor to avenge the Demon Head’s murder.”

Her second wanted to point out that they didn’t have any proof of the woman’s death. All Nafi told them was that Al Shabh killed Ra’s and disappeared. For all they knew, she was still alive and the League, on Nyssa’s orders, was told not to seek vengeance.

The more Talia heard about Al Shabh, her father’s heir and killer, the angrier she grew. For years, Talia believed that Ra’s thought she was unworthy to lead his men because she was a woman. When she found out that her father intended to pass his title down to a woman, to an outsider, her anger began to fester. What did Felicity have that she didn’t have? How was she more worthy?

“What news from Central City?” Talia asked, changing the subject. “Asim abducted the boy and his mother and is on his way here with them, I assume?”

“He is not and he did not accomplish his objective. I sent Tarek to learn why. Asim, and the others sent with him, are dead. It appears that Oliver Queen somehow learned of our intentions and stopped them in the act. Both the boy and his mother are gone, no doubt hidden somewhere he views as safe.”

“Close by, then. Good.”

“We need to do something.” Sara said, walking into the League’s hideout. “We can’t just sit here and wait for something to happen.” She’d returned from visitng Laurel and was angry about her sister being attacked.

“We can’t afford to rush into a confrontation either. Not if we want to avoid any civilian casualties.” Nyssa said. “It would cause chaos, which is exactly what Talia wants.”

“I thought what she wanted is to kill Oliver.”

“She wants to cause him to lose everything and everyone he loves first. And creating a crisis in Starling would allow her to do exactly that.” She said. “And we need to discuss how we proceed with Felicity, Oliver and his team before we act.”

“None of them are members of the League.”

“No, they’re not. But I respect Oliver enough not to wage a war in his city, and Felicity is one of the best strategists I’ve ever met. We’d be fools to not at least inform them of our plans.”

Felicity spent an hour in the foundry checking and rechecking all of the security measures she had in place at the safehouse William and Samantha were staying at. She knew it was a little paranoid and over the top, but she couldn’t be too careful. After that, she started to grow restless and decided to do some hacking. Maybe she could find something, however small it might be, that would lead her to Talia’s hideout. She wasn’t able to find Talia, but she did spot a few of the woman’s followers, recognizable by their armor, on a traffic camera. One of the things she’d learned in Russia was that sometimes the best way to win a fight was to do the last thing her opponent expected.

Felicity decided a short walk might do her some good. She put on her League armor, which she kept for sentimental reasons, and brought alone her sword in case she ran into some trouble. Later, she’d claim it was pure coincidence that she happened to run into Talia’s followers on the very street where she spotted them.

Talia’s men, after seeing someone who they thought was a member of the League, attacked Felicity. She defeated three of them easily and non-fatally stabbed the fourth. “The only reason I am allowing you to live, for now, is so that you can deliver a message. My name is Al Shabh. Tell Talia that I look forward to battling her, and defeating her, very soon.”

With that said, Felicity walked off. The man she stabbed ran back to Talia’s hideout and delivered the message before dying of his wound. Talia was livid to hear the message and, if the messenger had lived, would have killed him herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia deals with an unexpected obstacle and Felicity is, as always, ten steps ahead of everyone else.

After Felicity attacked Talia’s followers, she returned to the loft. There hadn’t been anyone around to follow her and she knew, in all likelihood, that by the time the one assassin left alive reached Talia, she’d already be in the wind. Felicity had been awake for nearly two days at this point and needed to rest. The fight was just beginning.

Oliver must’ve either been unable to sleep or had some kind of silent alarm, because she was barely three feet inside the loft when she spotted him coming down the stairs. His eyes widened slightly in surprise at her attire, but he didn’t say anything. She leaned her sword against the umbrella stand and headed towards the kitchen. Oliver mirrored the action.

“You have blood…there.” He said, gesturing to one side of her head and neck.

“Thanks.” She said, wetting a cloth and trying to wipe the blood off. “Too bad I can’t claim I cut myself shaving. Might’ve been believable.” She chuckled at that, reminded of when she told Isabel Rochev that dried blood on Oliver’s face had been from his attempt at shaving.

“Isabel definitely didn’t believe you.” He pointed out.

“Yeah, well, she was a psychobitch and now she’s dead. So, she doesn’t believe anything anymore.” She said. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Are we really doing this?” Oliver asked. “Are we just gonna ignore that you showed up here, covered in blood and dressed in League armor?”

“I’m not “covered in blood”. There’s blood on me, but it’s not that much.” She said. “And its not League armor, its my armor.”

“That you were given when you joined the League of Assassins.” He argued. “When I left the foundry, you were just checking security systems and doing some digging. What happened?”

Felicity placed the bloody towel on the counter and sighed. “You know, when I was kid- well, I never got to be a kid, but when I was being raised in Russia, they didn’t just teach me how to fight. They also taught me how to strategize. The best ways to learn all you need to know about my enemy before they could realize I was there. That’s one of the habits they instilled me with that I just can’t seem to shake.”

“Well, you spent most of your life doing it, so it’s not surprising.” He said sympathetically. “I only spent five years away but the habits I picked up are still with me. That doesn’t answer my question though.”

“Do you know why I was able to beat both Waller and the Russians?” She asked. “It wasn’t because I was involved the investigation every step of the way. I wasn’t. I tricked her into following a fake lead, but doing that only bought me more time. It was the same with the Russians. It was because I knew how she thought, I knew how they thought. If I did X, I knew they’d respond with Y. I knew them, but they didn’t know me. I lied, and I killed, and I manipulated, but the reason I “won” against ARGUS and the Russians was because I did the one thing they didn’t expect and didn’t give them time to react.”

“And that explains why you’re dressed like an assassin?”

“Yes and no.” She said. “Talia knows how you think. It goes without saying that she knows how Nyssa thinks. If it were just you and Nyssa against Talia, this fight could take months. But me, I’m an unknown variable.” She held her arms out in a “ta-da” type motion. “She has no idea who I am, she has no idea what I can do. And best of all, she’ll have no idea what to do. When she made her master plan, she didn’t count on me being alive.”

“What do you mean, she didn’t count on you being alive?” He said.

“Well, she thinks, and I’ll admit it makes sense, that after I killed Ra’s, someone from the League killed me to avenge him. Now, she not only has to deal with you, who’s trying to protect the city from her, and Nyssa, who wants to live up to the legacy she was left with, but also me. Someone she’s never encountered before, never fought alongside, and seemingly no vulnerabilities.”

“You have vulnerabilities.” Oliver said.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know what they are. Like I was saying before, I know her but she doesn’t know me at all.” Felicity said with a smirk. “This whole nightmare will be over soon enough.” She turned and saw her reflection in the window. “You could’ve told me I missed a spot. I gotta go scrub this off in the shower. Get some sleep.”

“I don’t think-.”

“Get some sleep or I’ll knock you out with one of your tranq arrows.” She repeated, walking towards the guestroom.

Talia’s student passed Felicity’s message onto her before he succumbed to his wounds. The woman and her second-in-command stood in silence at the revelation before she shouted for someone to remove the “useless pile of excrement” that had just died. After the body was taken away, Talia grabbed her sword, stormed out of the room and ordered two of her men to follow her.

They dutifully followed their leader and walked down to a large training area in the hideout. She commanded them to spar with her, as a way to get rid of some of her rage. An hour later, she came back upstairs covered in blood and only one of the men limped out of the room behind her.

“How is that bitch still alive?” Talia yelled at her second-in-command. “Has my sister lost all of her senses?” The man didn’t respond. “Tradition mandates that the murderer of Ra’s al Ghul be hunted down and killed by the League of Assassins. Is my sister so inept that she couldn’t achieve that?”

“We cannot be sure that the woman who attacked truly is Al Shabh.” Her second said. “The woman wore a mask and, even if she were unmasked in the fight, we do not know what Al Shabh looks like. Your sister-.”

“If this was a ploy by my sister, she would have done this weeks ago in an attempt to frighten me into surrendering.” She said. “No, Al Shabh is alive. She is here and now, I must devise a way to kill her. But first, there are a few others I need to find.”

An assassin of Nyssa’s had come across Talia’s followers’ bodies a few hours after they’d died and reported his discovery to her. Although he hadn’t seen the fight that took place, it wasn’t difficult to figure out what had happened. Or who was responsible. This put several assassins on edge and made both Nyssa and Sara curious. Felicity had tried to keep herself out of Talia’s sights so far, so why reveal herself now?

Angry, and growing angrier by the second, Nyssa stood up and headed for the door. “It seems we need to have a conversation with Felicity. She’s forgotten that we’re allies.”

“I didn’t forget.” Felicity said, coming into the room. “I just didn’t tell you about my plan first.”

“May I ask why not?”

“Because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it.” She admitted. “You wanna play the long game with Talia, but that’s not an option anymore. Not now that she knows that her father’s killer is still alive and wants to confront her.”

“You revealed yourself to her men? Why?”

“Because my survival was something she didn’t expect and I’m a factor she didn’t account for.” Felicity said plainly.

“She attacked Laurel, you know.” Sara said. “She tried to kill my sister.”

“You and I both know that if Talia wanted Laurel dead, there’s nothing your sister could do to stop her. No, I’m pretty sure she attacked Laurel so that she’d go running to Oliver, like she always does, and make it clear that she wasn’t playing fair.” She said. “I don’t know about you, but I wanna end this stupid battle once and for all. Come to the foundry after dark so we can plan.”

Talia walked through City Hall. It was almost hilarious how easily she was able to get into and out of this building without anyone batting an eye. She made her way to Oliver’s office. It was time for them to have a chat and she wanted to test him. She wanted to see how long it took him to sense her presence. To her annoyance, he was already looking at the doorway when she rounded the corner.

“Oliver.”

“Talia.” He replied. “What are you doing here?”

“You know why I am here.” She said. “My father was murdered, and as revenge, I will take everything you care about from you before I kill you.”

“Killing me won’t bring your father back. And I had nothing to do with his death.”

“No, but justice will be served nonetheless.” She said.

“Justice? You mean revenge. Tell me, in what world is targeting a nine-year-old boy and his mother so that you can kill them justice?” He asked. “You know, I didn’t kill your father, but I can’t say his death was a huge loss.”

“The League of Assassins’ ways have helped rid this world of unspeakable evils.”

“By killing innocent people? I don’t claim to be a paragon of virtue, but I’ve never needed to kill a bystander to top evil. Or hide behind some bullshit code to justify it.” He said. “And, as I keep saying, I had nothing to do with your father’s death.”

“Your student swung the sword!”

“She wasn’t my student.” He said. “I knew her before your father recruited her, that’s true, but she didn’t need me to teach her anything.”

“Do you expect me to believe that? Do you take me for a fool?”

“I don’t need you to believe me. it’s the truth.” He said.

“Your son is safe for now, but I will find him. And the last thing he ever sees will be your shocked face as I slit his throat.” She threatened before walking out of his office. She ordered her followers to scour the city until they found William and Samantha. The city was large, but they couldn’t stay hidden forever.

Talia watched City Hall for the next few hours. When she gave her final threat, she expected Oliver to rush off to warn his friends or check on his son, but he hadn’t left the building so far. No one particularly interesting went into the building either. it wasn’t until around 1pm that anything noteworthy happened. Oliver stepped out of the building, talking to a shorter blonde woman.

“Well, thanks for lunch.” Oliver said. Felicity had arrived an hour earlier, via a side entrance, with some sushi from a restaurant down the street.

“Cafeteria food sucks, and since there’s probably someone watching the building to see if you leave, there wasn’t a better option.” She said. “Besides, I- spending time with you, when we aren’t fighting bad guys, isn’t so bad.”

“Oh, it’s not?”

“Once you get over your “I’m responsible for everything that happens ever, everything’s always my fault” thing, yeah. I mean, you’re still you, and you’re starting to understand that I’m still Felicity.” She let out a deep breath. “Like I told you in Central City, I’m not angry at you. Even if you were being a stubborn idiot and ignoring what I was saying.”

“Thanks. I think.” He said.

“No problem.” She said. “And I’m sorry about this.” Before Oliver could ask, Felicity bent up and kissed him. It took him a few moments to realize what was going on, and by the time he did, she was pulling away. “Someone’s watching us from across the street.” She’d felt like someone was watching them and had a feeling she knew exactly who it was.

“So, you kiss me?”

“I need to go. I’ll explain my rationale later.” She said before walking away.

She walked towards the parking lot and nearly smirked to herself when she sensed someone following her. So far, so good. She started to unlock her car when she felt someone behind her. Seconds later, she felt a knife at her throat.

“If you scream, I will kill you.” Talia said. When she saw Felicity exit the building, she debated whether or not she should kidnap her. She wasn’t sure how important Felicity was to Oliver. She saw them kiss and realized Felicity might be better leverage than William. “You are going to come with me. If you try to run, I will kill you. If you attract any unwanted attention, I will kill. Understood?”

“Yeah. Just- just don’t hurt me.” She pleaded, pretending to be scared.

Lowering the knife, but taking ahold of Felicity’s arm, she dragged the blonde away from City Hall. A few blocks away, a car picked them both up and Talia forced Felicity into the backseat. The driver then headed back to Talia’s hideout. Exactly as Felicity had planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity, finally, takes the fight to Talia when the woman isn't expecting it.

Felicity allowed herself to be dragged from the car into Talia’s hideout. While she was partially annoyed at how predictable this course of action was, she mostly amused by how easily Talia had fallen for the same ruse so many others had. Felicity was a shirt blonde woman with glasses and because she was a short blonde woman with glasses, who seemed nice, no one thought she could be any kind of threat. Ra’s was the only person who hadn’t fallen for the tactic years ago.

Still, letting Talia underestimate her was the point. So, she let the woman “kidnap” her and drag her away to her hideout filled with assassins. She could’ve killed Talia when the woman tried to grab her. Or taken out both her and the driver en route to this location, but she held off. As the man who killed her mother once told her, she could try to kill someone several times, but she could only surprise someone once.

Most of Talia’s men didn’t even give her a second look as she was brought into the building. A few did double-takes because she seemed so out of place here. Talia finally let go of Felicity’s arm when they reached a small bedroom with no windows and only one door.

“I hope you know this isn’t personal.” Talia told her.

“You kidnapped me, it feels very personal.” She responded. Her eyes widened, pretending to be afraid. She wanted to make it seem like she’d blurted that part out and then regretted it since Talia could kill her.

“I have no reason to want you dead. You have done nothing to anger me.” Felicity nearly snorted at how untrue that was. “Your lover on the other hand…”

“Great. I’m getting fridged.” She scoffed.

The brunette glared at her. “Once I inform Oliver that I have his beloved, he will cooperate and hand himself over to me. Provided he comes quietly and without a fuss, I will release you. If he does not, I will return you to him in pieces.” Having made her threats, Talia walked out of the room, locking the door behind her.

As soon as the door closed, Felicity started inspecting the room. There were a few pieces of furniture, but only one, a desk chair, that could be used as a weapon. The door locked from the outside, and unfortunately, she didn’t have any lockpicking equipment on her person. She dragged the chair over to a spot near the door and waited about fifteen minutes. She figured Talia would’ve left within fifteen minutes to go deliver an evil monologue to Oliver about kidnapping Felicity. Or go looking for William and Samantha.

When she was reasonably sure that Talia was gone, she picked the chair up off the ground and threw it at the opposite wall, where it broke apart. She heard voices in the hallway before the lock started to jiggle. Showtime.

Oliver was in a bit of a daze when he went back into his office after Felicity kissed him. Why had she done that? Better yet, why did she apologize afterwards? He didn’t get much work done for the next few hours, unable to get his mind off of Felicity. He had about an hour left before his day was over when someone came storming into his office.

“Where is Ana?” Sam asked. “She was supposed to meet me an hour ago, and I haven’t heard from her.”

“I don’t-.”

“Her car is still parked down the street from here. You were the last one to see her.” Sam said. “Did she say anything? Do anything that hinted at where she was going?”

“Not….really.” Oliver answered. He didn’t mention Felicity kissing him because one, he didn’t know why she’d done that himself and two, he didn’t want to get involved in her and Sam’s relationship drama, if there was any. Unfortunately, Sam knew Oliver was hiding something.

As the two men stared at one another, Oliver’s phone rang. He answered it without looking. “I have something of yours, Oliver.” Talia said. “I don’t remember you having an attraction to blondes, but I suppose times do change.”

“What do you want?”

“You will know soon enough.” She said before hanging up.

“Felicity was kidnapped by Talia.” Oliver told Sam.

“You mean, Ana found a way to infiltrate Talia’s hideout.” He corrected before chuckling. “They’re not even gonna know what hit them.”

Felicity waited for Talia’s follower to unlock the door and step inside the room where she was being held. She positioned herself so that, when the door was open, she was out of sight. The man seemed annoyed at the ruckus Felicity had caused and knew he needed to make a few things clear to her. The door started to close behind him and that’s when she struck.

She kicked him as hard as she could in the back of his right knee, causing him to fall forwards onto his knees. While he was trying to recover, she came up behind him and broke his neck. “Well, that wasn’t hard.”

She helped herself to his weapons and walked out of the room. Two men were standing guard at the end of the hall, and the first didn’t have time to yell out before she attacked him with her sword. He put up a little bit of a fight, but before long, she had fatally wounded him and it was just a question of when he died, not if. His partner had been able to raise the alarm, so when she continued on her way, she found it blocked by half a dozen men.

“You go no further.” The one at the front said.

“Oh, you’re gonna stop me?” She asked. “I can’t wait to see how that works out for you.”

The man gave a signal and two of his comrades attacked. She killed them both within moments. The next two gave up more of a fight and in killing the fourth man, she lost her sword. Now unarmed but with two more men to fight, the remaining assassins started to get cocky.

“You have run out of weapons.” The leader of the group said, lunging at her.

Copying a move she’d learned from Ra’s al Ghul himself, she stopped the blade by catching it midair with her bare hands. Using her other hand, she hit him in his Adam’s apple. He reeled back to grab his throat and she held onto his sword as he pulled away. She stabbed the man just below his ribcage with his own sword before spinning around to stab the final assassin directly in the heart. She then turned to the man who was still dying. She didn’t know it, but he was Talia’s second-in-command.

“See, that’s your big mistake. Thinking I need a sword to kill you.” She sighed before swing the sword hard enough to cut off the man’s head. She normally wasn’t one for decapitation, seeing it as overkill, but it needed to be done to send a message. One Talia couldn’t misunderstand.

Talia returned to her hideout after her latest lead on William and Samantha’s location turned out to be useless. She stepped inside and a strange feeling overcame her. She searched the building and found all of her men dead, their bodies piled in a corner. She checked Felicity’s “cell” and found it empty. Written in blood on one of the walls was a message. “Is this the best you can do?” It was signed by Al Shabh.

“It’s been hours. We need to do something.” Oliver said. The team as well as Sam were standing around the foundry. No one had seen or heard from Felicity in hours and he was inclined to believe that Talia had been telling the truth and had abducted her.

“And I’m telling you, she’s fine.” Sam rebutted. “Ana’s very good at this. if she let herself get captured, it was for a reason.”

“That’s assuming she did “let” that happen and not that she was taken by surprise or ambushed.” Roy pointed out. “If she actually was taken-.”

“You’ve only known her for a few years, so let me clue you in on something.” He said, cutting Roy off. “Anastasia Rostova always ends up exactly where she wants to be.”

“That’s not her name.” Thea reminded him. “She might be- her name’s Felicity.”

“She’s had so many, its hard to keep track.”

“And yet, you’re the only one who can’t seem to remember to call me by the right one.” Felicity remarked, walking down the stairs. She made her way over to the medical supplies and started searching for gauze.

“What happened?” Oliver asked her, seeing blood covering her hand.

“Talia kidnapped me, I’m sure she told you already.” She said as she kept looking. “I only wanted to know where she was hiding out, so as soon as she locked me in a room and left, I took the chance to escape. And put a dent in her numbers.”

“And your hand?”

“One of her students had a sword, I didn’t. So, I caught the blade with my hand. Something her dad taught me.”

“But you’re- you’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve gotten myself into and out of worse situations than that.” She said as she finished bandaging her hand.

“See? I told you not to worry.” Sam said.

“Well, its nice to know that someone cares enough about my well-being to be worried in the first place, even if I had everything under control.” She added. “I guess we should talk now.”

“Yes, I’d-.”

“She wasn’t talking to you.” Oliver said. “She was talking to me. And yeah, we should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity discuss something they should've talked about a long time ago, and Talia gets the surprise of a lifetime.

After Felicity said that they should talk, she led Oliver over to a corner of the foundry where they’d be out of everyone’s way and hopefully out of earshot. Some of the others were milling about in the lair, pretending to do something while trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Felicity didn’t really care enough to tell them that she knew what they were doing. Instead, she focused on Oliver.

“So, you kissed me.” He said.

“I know. I was there.”

“And was- did you kiss me because you wanted to kiss me, or was it just because Talia-?”

“That depends.” She answered. “Back during the siege, did you kiss me only because you knew Slade would see you do it?”

It was something she’d been thinking about quite a bit recently. She’d never asked Oliver why he kissed her or how genuine it was. Sure, when they imprisoned Slade on Lian Yu, she’d made a comment about how kissing her to throw him off was a good tactic, but he didn’t agree with her point, or say anything about it at the time. Then, Felicity started to have bigger problems and the question went unanswered.

Oliver heard her question and wanted to kick himself. it was a fair question for her to ask, and he supposed turnabout was fair play here. He just knew she wouldn’t like his answer, but it made him look like an idiot. He didn’t only kiss her because of Slade, but he never acted on his feelings and started to date Laurel again immediately afterwards. He knew how that made him look.

“It wasn’t just because of Slade.” He said.

“And I didn’t do that just because of Talia.” She said. “I wanted to talk to you about it, us, my feelings, but her being there, and seeing an opportunity, it gave me a reason to actually make a move.”

Oliver wasn’t sure how he felt about her answer. She said she had feelings for him, and in the next sentence admitted that she kissed him mostly because it was a good opportunity. Is this how she’d felt after they stopped Slade?

“That…..it makes no sense to me.” He said.

“Yeah, I think you realize by now that I’m complicated.” She answered. “Anyway, you’re probably feeling the way I felt when you kissed me, told me you loved me and then started dating your ex. And just to be clear, I’m not reminding you of what you did to throw it back in your face or for revenge. I just find the parallel interesting.”

“So, you have feelings for me.” He said. “And I’ve got feelings for you. What does- what happens now?”

“First, we stop Talia and her stupid revenge plot. Then, we’ll figure the rest out.” She said.

He nodded. “If I tried to kiss you now, you wouldn’t punch me or anything right?”

Felicity chuckled and reached out to cup his cheek. “Now, why would I punch such an attractive face? I might damage it.”

“Good.” He said before leaning down to kiss her.

When he kissed her during the Siege, she’d been taken by surprise. He was surprised earlier today when she kissed him. This was the first kiss they shared where no one was too shocked to kiss back. He wasn’t sure how long they kissed for, but eventually Felicity pulled back.

“Nyssa, Sara and some assassins are gonna show up soon so we can plan. We should probably not be making out when they get here.” She said before reluctantly walking over to where the rest of the team was.

“What the hell was that?” Sam asked Felicity.

“You’re a fully grown man. I think you know what that was.” She said. “You and me? We were never gonna work. I’m not the scared girl who broke out of that facility anymore and you’re not the confused kid who tried to stop me. You’ll- I will never stop caring about you, but-.”

“But you don’t love me.” He finished.

“No, at least not like that.” She said. “I might’ve been your first love, but I don’t think I was ever gonna be your last one.” Even though she was sure of her feelings for Sam, it still hurt letting him go. Still, life was about growth and moving forward and sometimes, that meant doing something painful.

Thea was about to ask if the two former assassins wanted some time alone when the door at the top of the stairs opened and Nyssa, Sara and a handful of assassins arrived.

“We are here, as requested. Now, shall we get this farce over with?” Nyssa asked.

“Gladly.” Felicity said. “Your sister knows Al Shabh is still alive. And I let her kidnap me earlier today so that I could get a look at her hideout. It was mediocre at best, as was the battle prowess of her students.”

“You fought her students?”

“I wanted to find out where her hideout was, I never planned on staying there. I tried to leave, they attempted to stop me. We fought, I won.” She said. “Anyway, if Talia does what I think she’s going to, which she will because she’s very predictable, she’ll send for all of her men, that way she’ll be at full strength. When they get here, we’ll draw them out and end this once and for all.”

“Why didn’t you just kill Talia when you had the chance?” Sara asked.

“Sam, what happens when you kill the leader of a terrorist organization without dismantling it first?” Felicity asked her oldest friend. “That is basically what Talia’s little cult is.”

“There’s a power vacuum. Lower ranking members fight for control, creating factions that will go to war with one another, innocent people get caught in the crossfire. Not to mention, the really fanatical groups will lose their shit trying to avenge their fallen leader.” He answered. “And I think we can count Talia’s group as fanatical.”

“That’s why I didn’t kill her yet. if we wanna keep this city safe, and everyone living here, we can’t just kill her and hope her minions run away.” She said before turning to back to the group. “Now, we’ve been at least four steps ahead of Talia this whole time. I’d like to keep it that way. She’ll bring her army, so we need to decide where this battle royale is gonna happen.”

Talia stared at the wall where Al Shabh had written her taunting message in blood. The longer she looked at the words, the angrier she became. Not only had her students been unable to stop a lone woman, but her hostage had escaped. Felicity Smoak had probably already been reunited with Oliver, completing negating the threats she’d made earlier.

Even more annoying than Felicity’s escape was the fact that Talia’s hideout had been compromised. Al Shabh had discovered the location. It was only a matter of time before she shared that information with Oliver, or worse Nyssa. She wondered how the other woman managed to do it. Nyssa no doubt had dozens of men searching the city for Talia’s base, but somehow Al Shabh had found it in less than two days. The discovery cost her some of her best men.

Had her father’s killer been following her? Or was Talia not the person Al Shabh was following? After all, Al Shabh was Oliver’s student, no matter how much he claimed otherwise, and she’d no doubt intervene if his beloved was in danger. Talia finally moved from her spot glaring at the wall. The rest of her students would be arriving in Starling soon.

With Talia focused on gathering her forces, and the League preparing to go to war, Oliver found himself with very little to do. The crime rate had fallen over the last few weeks, although no one was sure why, and the mayor’s office wasn’t busy either. A few days after the team and the League formulated their strategy to stop Talia, he drove to the safehouse where William and Samantha were staying.

He and Samantha had a very frank, and at times uncomfortable, conversation about the situation and what was going to happen when it was over.

“I’m taking Will far, far away from this city and from you.” She vowed.

“It’s not that easy, Samantha.” He said. “William knows I’m his father. He knows who I am. Do you think he’s never gonna ask to see me? Or talk to me? Ever? I know neither of us wanted it to work out this way, but it did. Not to mention, if Talia could find you, someone else might be able to as well. And if you go back to Central City, I’ll be too far away to be of any help.”

“Then we’ll go into witness protection! Change our names. Make it so no one can find us.” She argued.

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to completely disappear in this day and age?” He asked. The only person he knew who had completely successfully disappeared, without running off to join the League, was Felicity and she’d only pulled it off because she was trained to be a ghost for her whole life. “I know you’re angry, I get it, but running away and hoping no one ever finds you isn’t the answer.”

After his talk with Samantha, Oliver spent a few hours with William before leaving. He had taken a very convoluted route to travel to and from the safehouse, just in case someone tried to follow him. He went to the foundry and found Felicity cleaning her sword.

“Did you run out of guns to clean?” He asked.

“Yeah, they’re over there.” She said, nodding to a large crate. “The last of Talia’s cronies arrived today. Tonight’s the night.”

“Tonight?” He repeated.

“I hate prolonging the inevitable.” She responded. “Call the others. Tell them to get ready.”

Oliver called the rest of the team, and Sam, while Felicity debated some last minute details with Nyssa. A little after 10pm, exactly according to Felicity’s plan, Talia and her army started making their way towards the spot she and Nyssa had picked for a final confrontation. An empty lot in a bad part of town, somewhere the police wouldn’t patrol and passersby wouldn’t get curious.

The League arrived at the same time Talia’s army did. The two armies stood opposite one another, glaring but not making any attempts to start a fight.

“Funny.” Talia said. “I see your pathetic followers. And I spot Oliver and his team of so-called heroes. Yet, our father’s killer, the legendary Al Shabh, is nowhere to be seen.”

“Well, you’ve got one thing right.” Sam joked. “She certainly is a legend.”

“A legendary coward. She instigates a fight, but doesn’t make an appearance to finish it?” She responded. “She clearly lacks conviction. Are you proud, Oliver? Your student bested my father, but refuses to face justice.”

“She wasn’t my student.” Oliver repeated, for what felt like the twentieth time.

Talia was about to make another remark when two shots rang out. The two men on either side of Talia dropped to the ground, dead.

“You know, you really are quite an idiot.” A voice called out. “You’re so blindsided by your anger, so eager for revenge, so convinced you know everything that you miss what’s right in front of you.” Felicity stepped into the light. “You wanted to kill Al Shabh? Well, here I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia's forces and Team Arrow's and the League's face off in battle.

“Are you proud, Oliver? Your student bested my father, but refuses to face justice.”

“She wasn’t my student.” Oliver repeated, for what felt like the twentieth time.

Talia was about to make another remark when two shots rang out. The two men on either side of Talia dropped to the ground, dead.

“You know, you really are quite an idiot.” A voice called out. “You’re so blindsided by your anger, so eager for revenge, so convinced you know everything that you miss what’s right in front of you.” Felicity stepped into the light. “You wanted to kill Al Shabh? Well, here I am.”

Talia took a second to process what Felicity had just said before she chuckled. “You are claiming to be Al Shabh? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Well, you just did laugh, so you can’t tell me not make you laugh.” She pointed out. “But back on track, I’m not claiming to be Al Shabh. I am Al Shabh.” She drew her sword. “Are we going to fight or are you just gonna waste my time some more?”

“If you’re so insistent on dying, I’m happy to oblige you.” She responded, drawing her own sword.

Talia had no idea what Oliver and Nyssa were playing at, or why they thought this plan, whatever it was, would work, but she didn’t see a reason to spare the blonde. Expecting this to be easy, she swung at Felicity and was shocked when her blow was blocked.

Pulling back, she swung again and was blocked again. Felicity then went on the offensive, striking at Talia and managing to slice her upper arm a bit. Now seeing that Felicity was a more challenging opponent than she anticipated, Talia began to fight harder, employing some of her more difficult and honed skills. To her annoyance, every tactic she tried, every move she made, Felicity anticipated it and counteracted her.

Once Felicity and Talia began to duel, Talia’s followers took it as a signal to attack. They rushed towards the League and Team Arrow. Occasionally, someone would stop and see how Talia and Felicity’s fight was going, but for the most part, the others were too concerned with the battles they were engaging in to pay them any mind.

Then, the gunshots started to ring out. Trying to see where the commotion was coming from, Sara looked around and saw Laurel, carrying a handgun and advancing towards the two armies. She didn’t even seem to be aiming at anyone in particular.

“What is she-?” Sara started to ask.

“I’ve got no clue.” Sam, who happened to be fighting next to her, said. “But you might wanna go stop her before the other guys do.”

A masked figure, one of Talia’s men, seemed to have noticed Laurel and made his way towards her as Sam spoke. Sara rushed forward to save her sister. Laurel started firing at the man, but between her terrible aim and slow reaction time, he was able to avoid being struck. He reached her right as she ran out of bullets. He knocked the gun out of her hands and grabbed her by the throat.

“Guns are the weapons of cowards.” He told her.

She tried to claw at his arm, but her attempts were too weak to do anything useful. She was starting to lose consciousness when suddenly, the man released her. Sara had snuck up behind the man and, using one of her knives, stabbed him directly in the heart. Laurel fell to the ground in a heap. Sara went to help her up, asking if she was okay but noticed Laurel wasn’t answering.

“Laurel? Laurel?!” She said, shaking her sister and trying to get a response.

“She may have hit her head when he dropped her.” Sam said. “She needs to get to a hospital.” He bent down to pick the woman up.

“No, I’ve got it.” Sara insisted.

“She needs a doctor now, and if you drop her off at the hospital dressed like this,” he gestured to Sara’s League uniform, “it’s gonna cause a lot of problems.” Sam didn’t like Laurel, but he was dressed in normal clothing and wouldn’t arouse suspicion. “You wanna do something to help our sister? Finish this fight.”

Sam took Laurel to the ER. He told the staff that he was her neighbor and heard her fall. He went to check on her and found her unconscious. As soon as they wheeled her back to get checked out, he left to return to the battle.

Talia and Felicity continued to battle. The daughter of Ra’s al Ghul was beginning to get very angry. She was using every trick she could think of, but Felicity hadn’t given an inch. Talia had managed to give the blonde a very slight cut, and that was it. Noticing that she was tiring and getting frustrated, Felicity decided to push her slightly over the edge.

“I can’t decide what’s more fun. This fight or the look on your buddy Chase’s face when I broke his femur.” She said. “He actually thought he stood a chance against me. Then again, you did too.”

“I am the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. I will not be killed by someone like you.” Talia spat out.

“Someone like me? Meaning what? Short? Blonde? Wearing glasses?” She challenged. “You know, I’ve met a lot of people, fought a lot of people, and killed a lot of people, but Ra’s was…unique. He’s the only person who didn’t fall for my act.”

“Your treachery, you mean.” Talia said, attacking once again.

“No, I mean my façade, my persona. I’d spent so many years in hiding, pretending to be someone I wasn’t. He was the only person who actually saw me for who I was.” She said. “You know, its like, you wear a mask for so long, you forget who you are beneath it.”

“He reminded you of who you are, and yet you killed him.” Talia attacked again and Felicity dodged out of the way.

“No,” Felicity said, stabbing her sword into Talia’s chest. “He reminded me of who I used to be.” She pulled the sword out and let Talia fall to the ground. It would be minutes, if not seconds, before she died.

As Felicity stood over Talia, she didn’t feel any sense of victory, just deeply sad. Things didn’t need to be this way. Talia could’ve mourned her father rather than try to avenge him. They could’ve discussed things as adults rather than decide a fight to the death was the only option. Ra’s could’ve released Felicity rather than force her to kill him. So many things could’ve happened differently, if only they were different people.

By the time Felicity had defeated Talia, most of the woman’s students were dead or injured. The few who were left standing were so shocked at seeing their teacher fall that they were easily overpowered by the others.

“That’s it then.” Digg said.

“Yeah.” She said. “Starting to think that maybe I should’ve just taken her out with a sniper rifle when she first showed up. It would’ve saved everyone a lot of time.”

“Perhaps.” Nyssa said. “But this death is what she always wanted. She always claimed she would die in battle. I cannot believe she was right.”

“So…what happens now?” Roy asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the fight against Talia over, its time for everyone to look to the future.

“So…what happens now?” Roy asked.

It was a good question. Talia was dead, as were her followers. The city was no longer in danger from them. The fight was over and once again, Team Arrow had miraculously won. A few members of the League started moving corpses around to make them easier to dispose of. While they worked, Felicity, Oliver, Thea, Roy, Digg, Nyssa and Sam stood there in silence. Sara stormed over to Sam and nudged him on the shoulder.

“Where is she?”

“I took her to Starling General, just like I said I would.” He replied calmly. “I told them I’m a neighbor and I heard her trip over something.” Nodding once, Sara turned and walked away, in the direction of the hospital.

“What was that about?” Digg asked.

“Laurel. You guys didn’t see when she showed up?”

“We were a little busy.” Oliver said. “What happened?”

“She started firing at people, I don’t know where she got that gun, and one of Talia’s men noticed and attacked her. He was in the process of strangling her when Sara attacked him and he let go of her. When he let go, she fell onto the ground and I’m pretty sure she hit her head, because when I walked over to Sara, Laurel was unconscious. I took her to the ER and told them I thought she fell in her apartment.”

“How’d you explain the bruises from the guy trying to strangle her?” Felicity asked. “When you strangle someone, that tends to leave a mark.”

“I didn’t. When I dropped her off, she didn’t have any bruises or marks other than a cut on her head.”

Nyssa said that the League of Assassins would take care of getting rid of all of the bodies before walking over to her men. She felt conflicted. Her greatest enemy was now dead, but Talia had also been her sister. She claimed she’d kill Talia, but was secretly a little thankful that it had been Felicity to do it. She didn’t want to be the reason why she was now alone in the world.

After Nyssa walked away, Team Arrow took her leaving to mean that it was okay for them to go. Someone else was dealing with the bodies and they didn’t see a reason to stay in the empty lot any longer. They went back to the foundry and started to unwind.

Sara changed into civilian clothes on her way to the hospital and arrived just as a nurse was asking around for Laurel’s family. She spoke up and said that she was her sister and asked what had happened. The woman explained that Laurel had bleeding on her brain and that the doctors needed to operate immediately. She gave them permission to do so and called her father. Giving him very minimal details, all she said was the Laurel was in the hospital. Lance rushed over to sit and wait with Sara. A few hours later, a surgeon came into the waiting room. Laurel was alive and they managed to stop the bleeding, but she was comatose. He couldn’t say when, or even if, she’d regain consciousness.

In the foundry, everyone changed out of their gear and was standing around sharing a victory toast. ‘You were headed to Las Vegas, your fake birthplace, last time I spoke to you.” Sam said to Felicity. “That where you’re headed next?”

“I think I’m done traveling for a little bit.” She said. “Besides, it seems like every time I leave Starling, an even bigger threat shows up.”

“Well, I wouldn’t-.” Oliver started to say.

“We wouldn’t have been able to stop Prometheus or Talia without her help and you know it.” Thea cut in.

“You’re right. It would’ve been a disaster.” He said. “Nice to have you back, Felicity.”

“Nice to be back. I really did miss this place and all of you when I was…..gone.” Felicity said. “It kinda was the first real home I ever had.”

“What about-?”

“Russia wasn’t my home. it was a place I once lived where a bunch of sick psychopaths turned me into a weapon.” She said, cutting Sam off. “I think its time that you found yours.”

“I thought I already had. But that’s the thing about life, isn’t it? You think you’ve got what you want, and it turns out not to be what you need.” He said. “Thanks for not shooting me in the head all those years ago.”

“Thanks for hesitating long enough to let me escape.” She replied. “Oh, and for being the only real friend I had for years.”

“Ditto.” He said with a small smile before he showed himself out of the foundry.

“I’m not gonna lie. I half-expected your goodbye with him to last a lot longer.” Thea said.

“We’ve already said goodbye enough times. Besides, this is more of a “see you later” than anything else.” She said. “Like I told Waller, and Ra’s and Talia, that part of my life is over. I’m ready for the next chapter.”

“Which is?” Oliver asked.

“If I ever figure it out, I’ll let you know.” She said. “For now, I wanna go to bed.”

“Let’s go home then.” He said, taking her hand.

“Finally.” Digg said. “I’ve been waiting five years for those two to get their shit together.”

The next day, Oliver visited Samantha and William’s safehouse and told them it was safe to go home. Samantha had every intention of keeping her vow to never let Oliver see his son again, but William didn’t let that happened. He insisted on getting to call and Skype with his father regularly, as well as the occasional visit.

Laurel was in a coma for three months. She woke up one day and didn’t remember anything that happened after learning Sara was alive. Sara and Quentin argued back and forth about whether to bring her up to speed on anything else. After talking with her doctor, they decided to let things unfold however they might and worry about explaining things if Laurel ever remembered.

Oliver and Felicity started dating shortly after Talia’s death. They took things slow, so that Oliver could get to know the real Felicity, not the one he thought he met when he brought her a bullet-ridden laptop. Starling City still had some crime, and Team Arrow still had work to do, but things were never as bad as when Talia and Prometheus were at large. One day, about a year after they started dating, Felicity asked Oliver if he wanted to see where she grew up.

“You wanna take me to that base?” He asked.

“You took me to Lian Yu, and showed me where you became the Green Arrow. I think I should return the favor.” She said. “Let’s call it an anniversary trip.”

“That’s an….unusual trip to take.”

“Nothing about us or our relationship has been “usual”. Is that a yes or a no?” She replied.

“If you wanna show me, not you feel like you have to, then yes.”

“Okay. Pack a jacket, because it gets cold in Russia.” She said. “I’ll buy some tickets.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> There are going to be a few more chapters, but we're nearing the end


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity returns to her roots.

After deciding that she wanted to show Oliver the place she’d grown up, Felicity booked plane tickets to Russia and made arrangements for a rental car and somewhere to stay. She asked Oliver if, while they were there, he wanted to visit with Anatoly. He turned down the offer, saying he was pretty sure that he’d ruined that relationship years ago and didn’t want a nice trip to be ruined because of the Bratva. She couldn’t exactly argue with his logic and let the matter drop.

Two weeks after she mentioned the trip, Oliver and Felicity stepped off of the plane in Moscow. They made it through customs quickly and it only took Felicity a little bit of arguing to get the rental car company to honor their reservation. They got into the car, which was an SUV that was a few years old and she turned to look at him.

“So, do you wanna go to the hotel first or to the base?”

“Which would you rather do?”

“Hotel.” She said. “I wanna drop our stuff off and get a short nap in, at least, before we head out to the base.”

“You don’t- I get the feeling that you don’t really wanna do this. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He reminded her.

“I need to. I want- its unfair to you if I keep this much of my past hidden. I only ever gave you the very barebones story, and you deserve to know more.” She said. “Besides, it’s just a building. It can’t hurt me.”

Oliver knew that wasn’t true, since the memories would be hard to face or be reminded of, but he didn’t say anything. He knew she was trying to put on a brave face, and if she said she could handle it, he was sure that she could. They took a short nap before heading out to the base.

Felicity drove straight up to the open gate and parked the car. They sat there, looking at the building for a little bit. He could tell that she was working up the nerve to get out of the car and move closer.

“It’s smaller than I remember.” She said after a few minutes. “Maybe it was because I was a kid at the time, but…when I escaped this place, I thought it was huge. Like, the size of the Pentagon or something. But being back here, its- it seemed a lot bigger then.”

She opened the door and stepped out onto the ground. Oliver followed suit, trailing behind her a little bit. Halfway between where the car was parked and the front door, Felicity stopped.

“Felicity?”

“This is where it happened.”

“Where what happened?” He asked.

“I told you that my parents were killed trying to break me out of here. This spot, its where I was standing the first, and only, time I saw my father. The guards shot him, right over there.” She pointed. “And until I escaped, this spot was the closest I got to freedom.”

Oliver had no idea how he should, or even could, respond to that. Yes, he’d seen both of his parents die, but that happened to him as an adult, not as a child. There was also the fact that Oliver wasn’t forced to be around the people who killed his parents for years after the fact. Instead of saying something, he reached for her hand and squeezed it.

Felicity blinked a few times and turned to head into the building. The inside was a mess. Clearly, everyone working there had left in a hurry when they found proof that Felicity was alive. There were papers and weapons all over the place. Felicity walked through the mess and headed in a specific direction. Oliver wasn’t sure where he was being led, but guessed it was somewhere that was important to Felicity.

She opened a door and they walked into what Oliver thought was a prison cell. It was a small, sparse room with only a bed, one dresser and a small bathroom. It wasn’t decorated in any way, shape or form and there weren’t any windows.

“This was my room.” She said. “One time, on a mission, I bought one of those teen beat magazines. I hid it in that vent, and they didn’t find it for about three months. When they showed it to me and asked me why I bought it, I told them the store clerk was looking at me weird, so I did it to allay suspicion. I actually bought it because it was something I’d seen other teenage girls buy. It made me feel normal for a little while.”

“It’s….nice.”

“It’s a prison cell. If I showed a picture of this room to someone, they’d say that’s what it is.” She said. “I wasn’t in denial about any of that. I was born in prison. It just took me seventeen years, two dead parents and losing almost all of my friends before I could escape.” She took his hand and led him out of her old bedroom.

They walked down the hallway and she told him a few stories about her time living there. She told him what some of the room they walked past were used for. She told him a little bit more about her escape, and what happened immediately after. Finally, they reached a room and Felicity had to take a deep breath before opening the door. She turned the lights on and Oliver found himself looking into another room through a one-way mirror.

“I don’t-.”

“My father was killed outside, but my mother- they dragged us both inside and after a few days, the director asked to see me. He brought me into this room. My mother was in that room. He gave me some speech about how my love for my mother was weakness, how he couldn’t let me be weak like that again. So, he sent guards into the room and they tortured my mother, while he made me watch. It’s been twenty years and I can still hear her screaming.” She said. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t know how long they did that for, but after a while, she seemed to know that she was gonna die. She looked into the mirror and started talking. She told me that she was sorry she couldn’t save me. She then-.”

“You don’t need to tell me if its too painful.” Oliver said.

“She started to say “I love you” but one of my teachers shot her in the head before she could finish.” She said, wiping a tear away. “My mom- she never got to tell me that she loved me. Because she was killed, right here.” Felicity sniffled a few times before the tears stopped. “I think that’s half the reason why I didn’t just leave, why I needed to track all of them down and kill them. Because the only person who loved me was murdered in front of me. And I never got to hear her say that she loved me.”

“I’m so sorry.” He told her.

“I know. Everyone is.” She said, turning to walk away.

Oliver followed her as she led the way out of the building. “No, I’m not just saying it. This isn’t some empty platitude.” He said. “I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry you had to witness that. I’m sorry this was your childhood. And if I could change what happened, somehow, I would in a heartbeat.”

“I wouldn’t.” She admitted as she stepped outside.

“What?”

“Everything that happened to me, everything I went through, it led me to Starling City, to you. And the team. If my shitty childhood hadn’t happened, I might still be working for the monsters who killed my parents.” She said. “If you hadn’t gotten on the Gambit, you wouldn’t be the person you are now. If I hadn’t been born and raised here, I wouldn’t be the Felicity you know and love. It’s bittersweet, but what can you do?”

They got back into the car and drove back to Moscow. The pair spent the rest of their trip inside the hotel room. For the first time in her life, Felicity left Russia feeling unburdened by what had happened there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity make a decision about their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story comes to an end.

**Starling- Three Months After Talia’s Death**

Laurel spent the first two weeks after she woke up from her coma trying to figure out what her amnesia had erased. Finding out which events she missed, such as Oliver becoming the mayor, was easy, but she had the feeling that there was something else that had happened, something her family wasn’t telling her.

She had no idea what it was, but given that two years of her life were seemingly erased, the doctor said it wasn’t surprising. She still had her job at the DA’s office, even if It wasn’t the district attorney she remembered working for. Google was able to fill in all of the pop culture and current event gaps, but she was convinced that whatever was missing had to be something big.

Laurel was unpacking her groceries one day when a memory started to resurface. She suddenly remembered a man with an eyepatch coming to her door. Something about him seemed threatening. He didn’t attack her, but instead informed her that Oliver was the Arrow before walking away.

As Laurel’s memory of Slade’s visit faded, she started to wonder if Oliver’s secret was what she’d been missing. Had Oliver been keeping his distance, not visiting her, because he needed space? After all, without her memory, she could’ve forgotten that they’d gotten back together. Knowing it was too late to visit Oliver now, she decided she’d head to Verdant and talk to him the next day.

When she went to Verdant, she approached Thea and told her that some of her memories had come back and that she needed to talk to Oliver. After arguing with herself for a few moments, Thea led Laurel down into the lair.

Oliver and Felicity were sparring when they arrived, and didn’t seem to notice the newcomers. Felicity managed to knock Oliver onto his butt and held a hand out to help him up. instead, he grabbed her arm to pull her down onto the mat with him. They started kissing and then Thea cleared her throat.

“We talked about this. No PDA in the lair.” She said.

“You’re no fun.” Felicity teased as she and Oliver stood up. “Laurel, nice to see you. I take it some of your memories came back?”

“What the hell are you doing with her?” Laurel asked Oliver. “How could you do this to me?”

“I don’t- Laurel, whatever we had between us, its been over for a while. It wasn’t healthy.” He said. “A part of me will always I care about you, but I don’t love you.”

“I-. I should go.” Laurel said before turning to leave.

As she fled, she heard Felicity and Thea comforting Oliver and asking if he was okay. She reached the top of the stairs and turned around. Oliver only had eyes for Felicity. She didn’t know before now that she’d been in competition, but clearly she lost. Her visit to the foundry was the last time Laurel saw Oliver, deciding to take a job in Coast City a few days later.

* * *

**Starling- Present**

Oliver and Felicity flew home from Moscow a few days after she showed him the secret base where she’d grown up. For a long time, she thought that she’d closed out that chapter of her life, but it wasn’t until she showed the base to Oliver and spoke about the things she witnessed there, that she truly felt free from those memories.

“So, what’s next?” Oliver asked her as they got into his car at Starling Airport.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re not having to live on the run anymore. The League’s an ally of ours. Pretty much every threat we had has been defeated in one way or another.” He said. “Not to mention the fact that crime has been the lowest it’s been in decades. Patrols have turned into cake walks.” In the year between Talia’s death and their trip to Moscow, crime had practically vanished. The city that was once one of the most dangerous ones in the country was now practically crime-free.

“Are you thinking of hanging up the hood?” She asked.

“Not entirely. If the city, or the world needs me, I’ll step up, but- for a long time, I couldn’t live my life as Oliver Queen because the city needed the Arrow. Now, it kinda feels like I’m getting that chance.” He explained. “Does that make sense?”

“It does. You know, I never thought I’d get to really live my life either. Not when I was looking over my shoulder all of the time.” She admitted.

She looked away from him and out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw Felicity’s eyes widen. “Something wrong?”

She let out a laugh. “it’s really over. No one else wants to recruit me. No one wants me dead. I finally get to choose what to do with my life.” Felicity had spent the last year waiting for something to happen. For another shoe to drop, for some big threat to appear, but nothing did. It seemed that things had finally settled. She looked back at Oliver. “We have lives again, what do you say we go live them together?”

Oliver’s face split into a wide smile. “That sounds perfect.”

They drove back to the loft, which Thea had moved out of months earlier to live with Roy, and decided to spend the night in. As they laid on the couch, the two of them started making a list. Between the pair, there were a number of things that didn’t they’d ever be able to do and experiences they missed out on. Oliver wanted to go back and graduate college. Felicity wanted to know what an actual girls’ night was like. They both wanted to see what the big deal about _Game of Thrones_ was. The longer they talked, the longer the list got.

“We missed out on a lot.” Oliver remarked as he stood up from the couch and moved into the kitchen.

“I don’t wanna see it as “missing out”. I see it as things we needed to wait to do.” She said. “If the very complicated life I’ve led so far has taught me anything, it’s that things happen for a reason.”

“It’s funny, isn’t it? The way things worked out.” He said, grabbing the cupcakes he’d asked Thea to pick up earlier that day out of the fridge. He kept his back to her while he worked.

“You mean how your decision to get on the Queen’s Gambit turned you into a hero and my decision to accept QC’s job offer instead of Wayne Enterprises led me to the love of my life? Yeah, it is funny how much difference a choice makes.”

“You almost worked for Wayne?” He asked, spinning around.

“No. I considered it, but something told me that I should move to Starling instead.” She said with a smile. “I can’t say I regret making that call.”

“Good.” He said, bringing a plate over to the couch. “Otherwise, this would’ve been awkward.”

He kneeled down to hand her the plate. She took it from him and noticed there was something written on the plate in syrup. It took her brain a few seconds to register that the words read “will you marry me” or that Oliver was still down on one knee.

“Felicity Smoak, I can’t put into words how much you’ve changed my life or how much I lo-.”

“Yes. I know what you’re gonna ask, you kinda wrote it on the plate but- yes.”

“Yes?” He repeated.

“Of course.” She exclaimed before she leaned forward to kiss him. They made out for a bit before pulling apart. “Please tell me the ring isn’t in cupcake, because I’ll probably swallow it on accident.”

He chuckled. “Nope. I’ve got it right here.” He said, pulling the ring box out of his pocket. He removed the ring from where it was nestled in the box and slid it onto her finger. “What do you think?”

“I think its perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this story (unless an idea hit me later that I NEED to write).
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read and supported this story, and this series.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> I know there's a lot of questions that need answering (where's Laurel/Sara/Sam? Will any Flash characters appear? How true/divergent will this be?) I'm going to slowly reveal all of that. In the meantime, you're free to take a guess.


End file.
